Central Station (1998) Reviews
- Starring:
- Fernanda Montenegro, Marilia Pera, (more)
- Director(s):
- Walter Salles, Jr.
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
Member Rating
My RatingAverage Ratings
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful Excellent film! The acting and direction were superb. Fernanda Montenegro (a seasoned actress) gave an amazing performance. What surprised me was Vinicius de Oliveira! I later found out that he was a ... Read More Excellent film! The acting and direction were superb. Fernanda Montenegro (a seasoned actress) gave an amazing performance. What surprised me was Vinicius de Oliveira! I later found out that he was a shoe-shine boy and beat more than a thousand boys for the part. He was a natural on film and has face of an angel. I know that the movie is great when I forget that I'm reading subtitles. I highly recommend this to everyone! Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful Although Central Station explores the familiar scenario of an older person coping with and then bonding with a despondent rebellious child, Walter Salles creates a compelling film in which the ... Read More Although Central Station explores the familiar scenario of an older person coping with and then bonding with a despondent rebellious child, Walter Salles creates a compelling film in which the story is convincing and we care about the characters. This is a well crafted film with the droll letter-writing theme cleverly executed. Central Station is set in Brazilian locations, both in rural areas and in Rio de Janeiro as well as smaller towns, and reveals many aspects of the everyday life of the Brazilian lower class. The nine year old child actor, Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), is an engaging kid and his performance is mostly on target. Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) nicely moves her character through the stages of annoyance to ambiance to acceptance on to her sacrifice for the sake of love. Sounds corny but Salles keeps the banality and the syrupiness to a minimum. Central Station is a darn good film. Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful This is one of the best movies I've seen - and I've been making my way thru the top rated foreign films for several months now (about 5 a week). The acting was perfect - although there were only ... Read More This is one of the best movies I've seen - and I've been making my way thru the top rated foreign films for several months now (about 5 a week). The acting was perfect - although there were only about 10 real actors in the movie, which often filmed around people living their everyday lives. The young boy was played by a first-time actor who had previously been a shoe-shine boy at the terminal filmed in this movie; which is hard to believe when you watch him act. Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful Okay, this is just one of the best, most well-acted, and powerful movies ever made. Fernanda Montenegro is the Meryl Streep of Brazil...and this makes Meryl's best performance (Sophie's Choice, ... Read More Okay, this is just one of the best, most well-acted, and powerful movies ever made. Fernanda Montenegro is the Meryl Streep of Brazil...and this makes Meryl's best performance (Sophie's Choice, anyone?) look just better than average (and I mean that as a compliment to both of them). And, if you can believe it, the boy was an unknown they basically picked off the street and his grasp of the character and his depth of performance is unbelievable. I highly recommend it. Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful This was such a beautiful movie. We rented it on a whim and I'm so glad we did. The acting is amazing and the transformation the lead woman goes through is so uplifting. And the kid is a pretty fantastic actor too. Wow. Sure doesn't make me want to visit Rio de Janerio, though...WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful This for me was a good movie but not a grand one. Fernanda Montenegro plays a woman in Brazll who writes and mails letters for the illiterate and decides which to actually mail (or not) on her own. ... Read More This for me was a good movie but not a grand one. Fernanda Montenegro plays a woman in Brazll who writes and mails letters for the illiterate and decides which to actually mail (or not) on her own. She happens upon a 9 yr old boy who's mother is killed in an accident and decides against her better judgment to help the boy across the county to find his father. Though both the script and storyline were rather bland, the films message was still a good one demonstrating that good will and charity can come from the least expected and sometimes compassion rises most from those who have been hurt the most themselves. Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
3 out of 6 people found this review helpful I would have loved to watch this movie without the commentary which I found very destracting. I normally like commentary but I want to see the movie without it before adding it and there was no way ... Read More I would have loved to watch this movie without the commentary which I found very destracting. I normally like commentary but I want to see the movie without it before adding it and there was no way to turn the commentary off on this dvd. I thought maybe I had been sent the wrong disk and had another one sent with the same problem. Looked like a great movie though..wish I could have seen it!! Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No | ||
2 out of 5 people found this review helpful I was looking forward in watching this movie. It arrived today and we popped it in and lo and behold it's not the movie itself, but a commentary of the movie. I don't know if the wrong DVD was sent ... Read More I was looking forward in watching this movie. It arrived today and we popped it in and lo and behold it's not the movie itself, but a commentary of the movie. I don't know if the wrong DVD was sent or what. I do know that I am horribly disappointed. Close this Review WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL? Yes | No |
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