Rating: Summary: Excellent Film! Review: Central Station is a favorite film of mine. It's very thoughtful and moving because the main characters are so sincere. As a result, the viewer becomes attached to the main characters, Dora (the lonely retired school-teacher) and Josue (the mother-less boy looking for his father). She battles with her moral conscience as she holds the boy's uncertain future in her hands, but she eventually finds redemption through her love for him. Their unlikely bond cements itself as they undertake a journey through Brazil that seems to be a test of their endurance as well as their trust in each other. I also enjoyed the film because it introduced me to a culture in which I was unfamiliar. The film begins in the busy Central Station of Rio de Janeiro, where masses of commuters intermingle with sales-people and others trying to make a living. Amongst all the bustle, a thief is tackled and shot by the railroad tracks. The latter part of the film is a journey to more remote regions of Brazil, where native culture is prominent and religious pilgrimages are a common sight. This is a very rich film that incorporates all the elements that make it an outstanding work of art.
Rating: Summary: Has all the virtues of a masterpiece Review: Central Station is the first movie to have make me cry in years . It tells the story of Dora , a bitter woman who gets paid for writting letters for people at the train station but afterwords doesn't care enough to send them to their receivers . Right after leaving the station , a woman to whom she just offered her services gets killed in an accident leaving her little son Josue all alone with nowone to support him . Dora , under the certain circumanstances , choses to take the kid under her wing and takes a long trip with him in order to find his father . During their harsh journey we have the chance to see the many faces of Brazil : the religious one (in a small village people are praying for their sins ) , the humane one ( Dora's slow change from cold and self-centered to sensitive and caring ) , the inhumane and dark one ( initialy some people try to use Josue as a source of human organs for sale ) . Fernanda Montenegro gives the best female perfomance of that year while being perfectly paired with child-actor Vinicious de Oliveira . The final part of the film is full of genuin human emotion . It's one of these endings you never want to end .
Rating: Summary: yet another gushing review Review: A profound story, an exploration of redemption and growth laced with symbolism and emotional depth, yet not sentimental. Well-directed and perfectly acted.Very few movies are this good. Also offers beautiful and fascinating glimpses of Brazilian religion.
Rating: Summary: Poignant Review: I truly loved this movie. I am an American who was saved in a little, dusty Brazilian church years ago, and my soul has never forgotten it's first home or language. Central Station shines in its ability to capture the ache and isolation that all people feel. The two characters grate against each other, but as time passes and troubles mount, the hardened and scarred areas of their hearts are what wear away, and they are able to love each other without pretense. The ending left me weeping unabashedly. Tears streamed down my face and my heart felt shattered. Sometimes, loving someone means putting the other person ahead of you to the extent that you suffer greatly. And yet, the pain I felt was good. I rejoiced as they each remembered the day at Bom de Jesus. Life on earth can hurt, but in addition to fellowship with the Lord Himself, the love of friends can carry us through the loneliest, saddest moments. Watch Central Station and feel renewed in your desire to love your friends honestly.
Rating: Summary: Moves you to tears Review: I must say this is one of the best movies I ever seen, though it was a long time ago. I am brasilian myself and I lived in Sweden, so I thought of watching a movie from my homeland, and it was so sad that it made me cry from the very first beginning. But I think it is a good movie because it shows reality, well one view of how it is there. The actors are great too ;) And it is the only right that they were nominated for I have never seen such a good movie based on another country other than the Us.
Rating: Summary: Central Station Review: This is one of the best movies of all time. Fernanda Montenegro is incredible in this film. Don't miss this one!
Rating: Summary: Much better than Life Is Beautyful Review: I don't know much about South American movies, but 'Central Station' is truly a masterpiece, it's both a road movie, an epic drama, and it learns many things about life in South America. For those who love a non-Hollywood movie, make sure it's 'Central Station', the story is moving and dramatic, the characters are unforgettable, and the music score is a great masterpiece.
Rating: Summary: One of the best of the 90s! Review: This is a movie about looking for oneself's identity, this is a movie about humanity, if you don't feel touched then go see a psychatrist! Fernanda Montenegro definetely should have won the Oscar for the best actress award instead of giving it to the lousy Gwyneth Paltrow! Also, this film is far execellent than the pretentious 'Shakespear in love' and 'Life is beautiful', the juries of Oscar most of the times are either self-protected or BLIND! 'Central Station'is definetely one of the best in the 90s and should have won the best picture and the best foreign film award of that year itself! A MUST SEE AND OWN MOVIE!!!
Rating: Summary: Sentimental, but still intelligent Review: This film is definitely better than Life Is Beautiful, which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar the year it was nominated for that award. It's like a somewhat more palateable, less brilliant version of Victor Babenenco's Pixote (which is also set in Brazil & deals with the country's abandoned youth). The main reason to watch this film is Fernando Montenegra's great lead performance. Her character is a cynic, and that cynicism helps disarm us as we're made to watch a little kid suffer. What could easily descend into trite emotionalism doesn't, mostly because of her work. The film's got an epic feel even though it's well under two hours long, and we get a good sampling of Brazillian culture (including some surprisingly incisive skewering of the country's religious preocupations). Overall, it's a film that is eminently watchable (and thankfully never slides into artistic pretention), and I would highly reccomend it.
Rating: Summary: GLORIOUS! Review: A STUNNING FILM ON ALL LEVELS! MONTENEGRO IS MAGNIFICENT AND SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR!...Montenegro reminds me of a foreign Geraldine Page which is the highest compliment I could give an actress!
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