Central do Brasil

Great movie, warm and bittersweet. It somehow reminded me of

My Life as a Dog (1985) because it more or less deals with the

same issues, but we move from the Swedish North to the sunny

Brazilian South. Beautiful colors, great acting--Josue and Dora

make a wonderful pair and they really foil each other out. Almost

starts dragging a little before the end, but it picks up again. I highly

recommend.

A wonderful film, that works on several layers. This is a film about a cynical woman who becomes a "mother" to a young boy who has just lost his mother. Through the course of this film, this woman, Dora, learns to love. The young boy, Josue, learns to live again. Each is so clearly delineated and so clearly defined that the film is a pleasure from beginning to end.

Central Station actually beat "Life is Beautiful" at some of the world's top awards ceremonies for that year, and you can see why. Its acting is superb, and Walter Salles' direction is with a masterly touch. The cinematography, evoking that desaturated, golden world of Brazil is beautiful - it's a lesson in itself on how to make an apparently 'gritty' world very beautiful. Watch this film.

'Central do Brasil' is basically a road movie about a boy Josué (Vinícius de Oliveira) who just lost his mother searching for his father. He does this with the help of Dora (Fernanda Montenegro). She writes letters for illiterate people in the central station of Rio de Janeiro. Dora has a secret, she doesn't mail the letters. She knows Josué because he and his mother used to write letters to Josué's father and when his mother dies she takes care of him, although she has other intentions at first.

The movie is mainly about the relationship between the boy and the woman. Of course they meet people on the road. Especially the part where they travel with a truck driver is very good. We also see a little of the life in Brazil. This is a movie with a good story that is very well directed. The acting is terrific. Montenegra as the older woman and especially De Oliveira as the boy is very good.

I thought this movie was terrific, a little slow in parts, but I cared about the characters and was interested in their journey. I also liked the fact that the main character was not portrayed as a saint - Dora is a real person, flaws and all. Montenegro was robbed at the Oscars and so was the movie.

I was surprised when I first saw Central do Brasil. First, because, living in Brasil, I have had the chance to see the rise and fall of our movie production. Suddenly, a powerful cinematographic milestone comes as a delightful surprise to movie lovers down here. A few things must be said: it's pretty obvious that Central do Brasil is too much of a real and daring movie for the Academy. It's almost a relief that it didn't get any Oscars, but was praised all over the world, winning more than 50 ( !!!) prizes in Europe, Asia and Americas. For those who find it boring, it's time to reavaluate your concepts on what good cinema is. Stop seeing The Patriots and Independence Days that infect America's so-called Industry, and try to research a little bit more on sense and sensibility!!