Central Station (1998)
Directed by : Walter Salles Produced by : Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Arthur Cohn, Donald Ranvaud Written by : Walter Salles Starring : Fernanda Montenegro, Matheus Nachtergaele, Marília Pêra, Vinícius de Oliveira Music by : Antonio Pinto, Jaques Morelenbaum Cinematography : Walter Carvalho Editing by : Felipe Lacerda Distributed by : Sony Pictures Classics (USA), Europa Filmes (Brazil) Release date(s) : 16 January 1998 (Switzerland), 3 April 1998 (Brazil), 2 December 1998 (France) Running time : 113 minutes Country : Brazil, France Language : Portuguese Budget : $2.9 million | |
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Walter Salles' Central Station is a touching, well-made motion picture whose only real flaw lies in the overfamiliar storyline. This kind of film, which explores the bond between a motherless child and a lonely older woman, has been attempted so frequently that good acting and direction are no longer enough. The script must offer a new and compelling quality, something to draw us into the narrative and make us really care about what happens to the characters. As with recent films such as Kolya and Unhook the Stars, Central Station has what is necessary - the ability to touch the heart.
Another interesting aspect of this picture is that it presents a rare look at non-tourist locales in Brazil. If one of the functions of a motion picture is to take us to new places, Central Station accomplishes that goal admirably. Salles (whose previous feature, the compelling-but-uneven noir thriller Foreign Land, was a festival circuit success) grants us views of densely-populated cities where the houses are little more than shanties, where illiteracy is an epidemic, and where an obsession with religion dominates nearly every facet of life (people pay hard-earned money to have their picture taken with the statue of a saint). Nevertheless, as intriguing as the road trip element is, the characters (more than the setting) keep us involved.
The film opens inside a large train station in Rio de Janeiro, where Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) is going about her daily job. At a dollar's price, she will write a letter for one of the many illiterate passers-by in the station, then seal it in an addressed envelope. When it comes to mailing the letters, however, Dora is not trustworthy. Based on an arbitrary criteria, she posts some letters, tears up others, and stashes a few in a drawer. Dora doesn't care when she betrays a trust; she has made the determination of what's best, and decides whether or not to send a letter based on that judgment. She stands aloof and uninvolved, making her assessments dispassionately. Until she meets Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), that is.
Josue is the 9 year-old son of a woman who dictates a letter to Dora. In it, she asks the boy's father if they can be reunited. When leaving the station afterwards, the woman is struck by a bus and killed. Josue, with nowhere to go, begins to loiter around the station, acting pugnacious and withdrawn. His plight stirs something in Dora (she has seen the fate of shoplifters, who are shot, and she reasons that, without her intervention, a similar fate awaits Josue), who brings him home, then sells him to an adoption agency. However, when her best friend notes that Josue is too old to be adopted and that the organization may be a front for organ thieves, Dora kidnaps the boy from the agency, then goes on a journey with him, searching for his father.
Regardless of the political issues the film touches upon (those oblivious to the current situation in South America may miss Salles' allusions entirely; they aren't subtle, but he keeps things from turning preachy) or its travelogue aspect, the real heart of Central Station is the relationship between Dora and Josue. As in the best of this sub-genre of movies, the two change each other in profound ways. Dora fills the maternal role left vacant in the boy's life by the unexpected demise of his mother. In turn, her cynicism melts away and she discovers that she still retains the capacity to love, and, in the service of love, to sacrifice. Salles develops the relationship perfectly. It is certainly a familiar story (I was especially reminded of a small 1992 Italian film, Il Ladro di Bambini), but, in this context, it seems fresh.
The two leads both do superlative work. Fernanda Montenegro believably conveys the changes in Dora as her relationship with Josue transforms her inner self. It's a finely-tuned portrayal that doesn't ask the audience to accept any sudden or hard-to-swallow shifts in behavior. Dora's rebirth is gradual. Newcomer Vinicius de Oliveira doesn't have as complex as role to essay, but his performance as a young, lost boy touches the heart. Together, the two actors create a palpable, and very special, bond (not only with each other, but with the audience).
Central Station placed third in the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival's popular balloting (behind Life is Beautiful and Waking Ned Devine), which is a testament to its mass appeal. The reason is understandable. Central Station is both literate and emotionally-powerful - an increasingly rare combination. It does not rely upon camera tricks or overwrought performances to touch the viewer. There's manipulation going on here, but it's subtle and skillful, and, as a result, we don't feel like our heartstrings are being twisted and pulled by an unseen puppeteer. For that reason, Central Station is well worth seeing, especially if you're in the mood for an affecting drama.
