Competition
Central Station (Central do Brasil)
"Central do Brasil is a film about a boy in search of a father
and a woman in search of a country. It is also a film about the search
for an identity and the possibilities of surrendering to affection,"
explains director Walter Salles of his Brazilian road movie which covers
more than 5,000 km of the interior of Brazil and was made for the relatively
modest sum of $2.9 million.
Central do Brasil’s main protagonist, Dora (played by Fernanda Montenegro,
considered Brazil’s greatest living actress), is a retired schoolteacher
who spends her time writing letters for the illiterate passers-by who cross through Rio de Janeiro’s biggest and
busiest train station, Central do Brasil.
Dora has cultivated a precarious cynicism to survive the choice she
must make on a daily basis as to which of the letters she will post and
which she will bin. Among her clients is a woman who is accompanied by
her nine-year old son, Josué (played by 11-year-old newcomer, Vinícius
de Oliveira), who dictates letters to be sent to the boy’s father. Josué
dreams of meeting his father, more so when fate intervenes and his mother
is run over in front of the station.
Despite initial reservations when she thinks of taking the boy to an
adoption agency to make some quick money, Dora decides to accompany Josué
on his search for his father in the Brazilian north east. During their
long journey on the dirt roads of the Brazilian interior, the teacher and
the boy traverse a country that is still far from any social or economic
progress. It is the antiquated and primitive part of Brazil which still
exists today as the third millennium approaches.
Asked if he thinks about winning a prize in Berlin – and with Montenegro’s
performance it must be a possibility – Salles says: "You never make
a film to win prizes; you make a film because you have a story to tell.
The greatest prize I could have was the opportunity to work with Fernanda.
Not only is she a great actress but a person of uncommon generosity."
Susana Schild
Synopsis
In her small booth at Rio de Janeiro's main station, former teacher
Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) offers a very special service. For one Real
she will write letters for people who cannot write themselves, for two
Reals she will deliver the letter to the post office. One day Dora witnesses
an accident in which a mother is killed. The mother has just dictated a
letter to her son's father who has dumped her, so Dora decides to take
care of the dead woman's son, nine-year-old Josué (Vinicius de Oliveira).
With sparse images, Rio-born director Walter Salles tells an immensely
touching story about finding one's true identity. Dora is torn between
the idea of selling Josué to an adoption agency for some quick money
and her feelings of growing fondness for the boy. Finally, she decides
to join him in the search for his father. The pair do not just leave Rio
behind but also their mistaken first impressions of each other. Their long
journey through lonely and alien landscapes turns into an adventure that
helps them to overcome the pain of feeling lost and having no home.
(Dir): Walter Salles (Scr): Joào Emanuel Carneiro, Marcos
Berstein, based upon an original idea by Walter Salles (Cast): Fernanda
Montenegro, Marlia Pera, Vinicius de Oliveira, Sioa Lira (Running time):
112 Minutes
[Home ] [Content
] [The Team ] [Comments
]
