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Central Station [DVD] [1999]

DVD ~ Fernanda Montenegro

4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	72% buy the item featured on this page: Central Station [DVD] [1999] 4.6 out of 5 stars (19)
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Product details

Actors: Fernanda Montenegro, Vin�cius de Oliveira, Mar�lia P�ra, Soia Lira, Othon Bastos
Directors: Walter Salles
Writers: Walter Salles, Jo�o Emanuel Carneiro, Marcos Bernstein
Producers: Afonso Coaracy, Arthur Cohn, Donald Ranvaud, Elisa Tolomelli
Format: Anamorphic, Full Screen, PAL
Subtitles: French
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Classification: R (Restricted) (US MPAA rating. See details.)
Run Time: 113 minutes

Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00004VY86

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

In the opening scenes of Central Station, colourful crowds of Brazilians stream into and out of a Rio de Janeiro train, pushing through doors and windows. You're immediately pulled into the brutal vitality of a nation in motion, setting the tone for a picturesque road movie that charts Brazil's renaissance in a little boy's search for his father and an old woman's emotional reawakening. When we first meet Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), this frozen-hearted, sour-faced woman is the epitome of immobility: day after day, she sits in the train station selling her letter-writing skills to all comers, but often doesn't bother to mail these precious messages. When a woman who's paid Dora to write a pleading note to her son's long-missing dad gets run over by a bus, the child, Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), is up for grabs. (The summary execution of a thieving street kid--seen in longshot--underscores the seriousness of this waif's plight.) After an abortive attempt to sell Josue for a new TV, the aspiring couch potato finds herself reluctantly propelled into an occasionally Fellini-esque odyssey through the hinterlands of Brazil's sertäo, where Dora and her sidekick find unexpected faith and family. Former documentary filmmaker Walter Salles (Foreign Land) mixes magic with realism in his appreciation of striking faces and places, but Central Station is primarily fuelled by the tough/tender performances of Montenegro, Brazil's Judi Dench, and de Oliveira, an airport shoeshine boy Salles cast over 1,500 other hopefuls. (Montenegro was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and Central Station was in the running for Best Foreign Language Film.) No cloyingly cute child-star, de Oliveira plays Josue as a bracingly idiosyncratic brat. And watching Dora's face and soul slowly, unwillingly unclench as she gets back in motion--and emotion--is potent pleasure, even if Salles' trip does dead-end in soap opera as his Brazilian pilgrim's progress winds down. --Kathleen Murphy, Amazon.com

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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood could never do this film, 30 April 2006

By	M.A. McDonald (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Central Station [DVD] [1999] (DVD)

This is brilliant. That's the only way to describe it, and even that doesn't do it justice.
Dora, cynic teacher retir�e, writes letters for the illiterate people of her home city, Rio di Janiro, but most of the time reads the letters with her neighbour and apparently sole friend, Irine, before ripping them up and throwing them out, or stashing them in a drawer Irine refers to as Purgatory. Due to unfortunate circumstances, a small boy by the name of Josu� falls under her care, and after unknowingly selling him, she gets him back, and they go on a "Sideways"/"Transamerica" type journey to find the boys father.
Hollywood could never do this film: It's far to human, real, and emotional. Not wishing to give too much away here, but this was the first and only film I have ever cried at in my life. Well worth your viewing time and money.

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113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Triumph Of The Human Spirit, 31 May 2000

By	J. N. Valente "jnscav" (Evora, Portugal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Central Station [VHS] [1999] (VHS Tape)

Fernanda Montenegro's portrayal of the cynic and harsh Dora, that befriends an orphan boy and realises that Love has many ways of coming back into one's life is absolutely magical and real. Few, if any, actresses would achieve such a feat. She moulds her face, her whole body, to the evolution of her relationship with the boy Josu�, with the landscape of hinterland Brazil, with Faith that she has lost for Gods and Saints but recovers towards the end of the film as something far more complex - faith in humanity. She's probably the Best Actress in the world at this moment. The cinematography is breathtaking, the soundtrack absolutely right, and the supporting cast (particularly Mar�lia Pera) a delight to see. It beats me why Fernanda didn't win the Oscar, and it's a scandal that the clownish Life Is Beautiful stole Central Station its Foreign Language Oscar as well... Still, anyone who chances watching this film will see it for the universal masterpiece of film making it is. Superb!

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61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly unforgettable!, 28 Mar 2004

By	A. J. Cox "Andrew Cox" (London, SW8) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Central Station [DVD] [1999] (DVD)

This is a truly wonderful and heart rending film, which celebrates the survival of the human condition in even the hardest of environments.

The central themes of this film are loss, loneliness and longing for love. These themes are omnipresent in the film; in the words of the poor, illiterate souls whose letters Dora will never send; in young Josue, who has lost his mother and longs to find his missing father; in the evangelist truck driver, who finds solace from the loneliness of the open road in his religious faith; and in Dora and Irene, retired schoolteachers living alone as spinsters.

Fernando Montenegro's outstanding portrayal of the bitter and cynical Dora captivates right from the beginning. Movement is centrifugal to the film, such as the passing of the daily trains and commuters through Rio station; Josue angrily chasing the train carrying Dora early in film, and vainly running after the bus taking Dora back to Rio at the end of the film.

Dora's hoarding of the unsent letters in her flat unconsciously reflects the lack of resolution in her own life, which has led to her being querulous and dissatisfied in old age. In spite of many stops and starts, she finds resolution, and restoration of her faith in humanity, through the journey which introduces Josue to his brothers and leaves him with the hope of seeing his errant father. The film ends poignantly with Dora writing a letter to Josue, on her bus journey back to Rio, telling him never to forget her as he embarks on the long journey of life.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars No German soundtrack
Unfortunatly the description at the amazon HP is not correct.
There is no german language at this DVD.

Languages: Portugese Dolby Surround 2. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Matty

5.0 out of 5 stars Central Station - beautiful
A beautiful, touching film with breathtaking Walter-Salles-style cinematography and a truly heart-rending storyline. Read more

Published 13 months ago by S. L. Wilkinson

5.0 out of 5 stars Life-affirming, beautiful film
It's moving, it's simple and straightforward and it's utterly convincing. If you are uncertain as to whether to see it, please decide that you will. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Mr. R. P. Mountford

5.0 out of 5 stars A great,touching film with beautiful performances
This is a trully great film,from all perspectives.The story,the performances,the setting,the photography,everything. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Nikoletta Papadopoulou

4.0 out of 5 stars Searching for Jesus
"Central Station" is a worthy contribution to world cinema. Set in Brazil the film tells the story of the relationship between a young orphan boy and an ageing ,world weary... Read more

Published on 8 Jul 2007 by L. Davidson

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent film
I really enjoyed this film because it had a great script, wonderful characters in Dora and Josue, and because it was really very moving. Read more

Published on 13 Jun 2007 by Matt

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely beautiful!
This film is a shattering powerhouse of emotion but crafted in such a way as to gently pull the rug from under your feet and place a cushion under your bott as you come to rest... Read more

Published on 4 Jul 2006 by Hill Walker

3.0 out of 5 stars I hate subtitles, but good film
Although I don't normally go for an arty relationship-based film like this one I thought it was pretty good. Read more

Published on 24 May 2006 by Mr. Mark C. Willis

4.0 out of 5 stars In a nutshell, recommended...
Just in case you are in a hurry, I will begin this review in a non-traditional way, that is by the end. Read more

Published on 8 April 2006 by bel_78

5.0 out of 5 stars morefilmslikethisplease
This was the most moving and thought provoking film I have seen in a long time. For a film that mostly appeared to run at a calm and studied pace I was on the edge of my seat as... Read more

Published on 22 Jan 2006

› See all 19 customer reviews...

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