Central Station (1998)

Central Station is a Brazilian-French drama film released in 1998 and directed by Walter Salles. A road movie focusing on the unlikely pairing of a bitter old woman and a naïve young boy, the picture has a lot to say about redemption and happiness. Josué is a kid who’s never met his father, though he is of the firm belief that he’s a good and interesting man. Dora is an old woman who spends her days writing letters for illiterate customers inside Rio de Janeiro’s Central Station and her nights poking fun at the mushy sentiments within them. These two individuals are total opposites save for the fact that they are equally stubborn. When Josué’s mother is run over by a bus, he is left orphaned and takes up residence in the Central Station. Feeling a sense of obligation, Dora takes him home with her only to sell him off to what she believes is a temporary orphanage where children are relocated to wealthy families. Upon learning the sinister truth behind the home, she rescues Josué and the two head off on an exhausting journey to unite Josué with his father.

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Dora is the embodiment of the redemption theme present in Central Station. Her character at the end of the film is a complete 180 from the woman we meet at the beginning. Dora has checked out from society, minimizing her communication with people to writing letters dictated to her from gullible customers. She actually hordes the letters she writes, judging their worth with her only friend Irene. She’s resigned herself to being an old hag unconcerned with companionship. It takes Josué to slowly draw out the humanity she has let shrivel. Dora is a cold person, and even when she takes Josué home with her after feeling guilty seeing him sleeping in the station, she undoes her kindness by turning a profit off the boy. She sells him to what she blindly believes is a temporary orphanage, and only after hearing the truth --- that these homes are fronts for organ harvesting --- does she rescue Josué from her own bad decision. Over the course of the film, this young boy and the journey undertaken forces Dora to look at herself. Through Josué, Dora sees the good things in life she had given up believing so many years ago. Her efforts and sacrifices to see this young boy find happiness cleanses her soul. The Dora we see at the film’s conclusion, wearing make-up and a dress, is a far cry from the rough, craggy woman nipping at customers in the beginning.

Family is another prevalent theme in the film. Josué has no one but his mother, and when she’s killed, he is left to fend for himself. Dora has no family to speak of either, and following an encounter with her drunk of a father where he could not even recognize her on the street, she has given up all consideration for familial love. Both of these characters are without a family to draw strength from; alone. Over the course of the film, what Dora sees as a self-imposed burden becomes a mission of newfound understanding. An understanding that family truly is important. When our two travelers meets Josué’s brothers, mature and good-natured, Dora realizes the best place for the boy is with them. She has missed out on the family experience, but it is not too late for Josué. She leaves him with his brothers with the knowledge that Josué will grow up to understand how good a decision it was to leave him with them.

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Central Station rounds out my three favorite films that we watched this semester. The performance from Fernanda Montenegro as Dora was spectacular. She seemed totally familiar to me. Like a grumpy babysitter I had as a child. Her temperament, her demeanor, as off-putting as it was, made her all the more interesting if not likeable. When she made the risky move to save Josué, she became a fascinating antihero. Her character arc was the best part of the film. The chemistry with newcomer Vinícius de Oliveira as Josué was very natural. Reminiscent of a cranky grandmother dealing with her bratty grandson. They pulled off some great moments together, but it was definitely Mrs. Montenegro’s show. The beautiful rural vistas made excellent backdrops for her character’s transformation. Away from the dirtiness and claustrophobia of Rio de Janeiro, it was in the country that Dora found the good in herself. The messages in the film were particularly well developed and the writing was very casual. A lot of good back and forth between characters; touching on human nature and the spirituality in life. Central Station is one of this semester’s films I would surely watch again. It’s an uplifting movie with an incredible lead performance.