Central do Brasil (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Central Station (Central do Brasil) |
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|---|---|
 Central do Brasil movie poster. |
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| Directed by | Walter Salles |
| Produced by | Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre Arthur Cohn |
| Written by | Walter Salles |
| Starring | Fernanda Montenegro Matheus Nachtergaele Marília Pêra Vinícius de Oliveira |
| Music by | Antonio Pinto Jacques Morelenbaum |
| Cinematography | Walter Carvalho |
| Editing by | Felipe Lacerda |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics (USA) Europa Filmes (Brazil) |
| Release date(s) |  3 April 1998 20 November 1998 12 March 1999 20 March 1999 1 April 1999 |
| Running time | 113 min. |
| Country | Brazil / France |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Budget | $2,900,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Central Station (Portuguese: Central do Brasil) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning 1998 drama film set in Brazil. It tells the story of a young boy's friendship with a jaded middle-aged woman. The movie was adapted by Marcos Bernstein and João Emanuel Carneiro from a story by Walter Salles and it was directed by Salles. It features Fernanda Montenegro and Vinícius de Oliveira in the major roles. It was an international co-production between Brazil and France. The film's title in Portuguese, Central do Brasil, is the name of Rio de Janeiro's main railway station.
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[edit] Synopsis
Dora (Montenegro) is a former school teacher who is now a bitter old woman. She works at Rio de Janeiro's Central Station, writing letters for illiterate customers in exchange for some money. She hates her customers, and often does not mail the letters she writes, putting them in a drawer or even tearing them apart. Josué (Oliveira) is a poor 9-year-old boy who has never met with his father, but hopes to do so. His mother sends letters to his father through Dora, saying that she hopes to reunite with him soon, but when she is killed in a bus accident in the station, Josué is left helpless. Dora is initially reluctant to be responsible for the boy, but she ends up deciding to take a trip with him to Nordeste, in order to find his father's house and leave him there. They become great friends, despite the age difference, and Josué convinces Dora to mail the letters she has written. At the end of the film, Dora and Josué are not able to find his father, and Dora decides to make the difficult decision of leaving the boy alone with his estranged older brothers.
[edit] Production details
- Over 1,500 boys auditioned for the role of Josué. The winner, Vinícius de Oliveira, was a shoe-shine boy.
- The movie was shot entirely in the sequence of its script.
- When Fernanda Montenegro set up her table at Central do Brasil, real people (who didn't recognize her) approached her to write letters for them. Some of these real requests were incorporated in the film by Salles.
- The show that is airing on Dora's new television was a popular (now defunct) SBT program called Topa Tudo Por Dinheiro, which means Agree To Do Anything For Money in English.
[edit] Cast
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Argentina: | 13 |
| Australia: | M |
| Brazil: | Livre |
| Chile: | TE |
| Finland: | K-12 |
| France: | U |
| Germany: | 6 |
| Iceland: | L |
| Netherlands: | 12 |
| Portugal: | M/12 |
| Singapore: | PG |
| Sweden: | 11 |
| Switzerland: | 12 |
| United Kingdom: | 15 |
| United States: | R |
- Fernanda Montenegro as Dora
- Marília Pêra as Irene
- Vinícius de Oliveira as Josué
- Soia Lira as Ana
- Othon Bastos as César
- Otávio Augusto as Pedrão
- Stela Freitas as Yolanda
- Matheus Nachtergaele as Isaías
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Best Actress in a Leading Role – Fernanda Montenegro (nominated)
- Best Foreign Language Film (nominated)
- Best Film Not in the English Language – Arthur Cohn, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre and Walter Salles (won)
Berlin International Film Festival
- Golden Bear – Walter Salles (won)
- Silver Bear for Best Actress – Fernanda Montenegro (won)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Walter Salles (won)
- Best Foreign Film – Walter Salles (nominated)
- Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama – Fernanda Montenegro (nominated)
- Best Foreign Language Film (won)
- Best Foreign Film – Walter Salles (nominated)
- Best Actress – Fernanda Montenegro (won)
- Best Foreign Language Film (won)
- Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama – Fernanda Montenegro (nominated)
- Best Original Screenplay – João Emanuel Carneiro and Marcos Bernstein (nominated)
- Best Foreign Language Film – Walter Salles (won)
[edit] External links
- Central do Brasil at the Internet Movie Database
- Brazilian Director Walter Salles talks about his career
- Central do Brasil at Rotten Tomatoes
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The People vs. Larry Flynt |
Golden Bear winner 1998 |
Succeeded by The Thin Red Line |
| Preceded by Ma vie en rose |
Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film 1999 |
Succeeded by All About My Mother |
| Preceded by L'Appartement |
BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language 1998 |
Succeeded by All About My Mother |
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