Central Station

[flowrchild]

http://us.imdb.com/Details?0140888


I watched this movie the other night, and found it extremely truthful and touching and enjoyable. I rarely see it mentioned on the boards so I thought I'd make a new topic and see what the rest of you think about it.

A few things I enjoyed about the movie:

1) The development of the bond between the old woman and the little boy. It was not an instant connection, and the director did not try to insult our intelligence by making them have the perfect flawless forced cliche relationship.

2) Outstanding acting by both of the actors. Fernanda Montenegro fully deserved a nomination for her moving but not overplayed performance. Vinícius de Oliveira turned in a solid performance far surpassing most of the child roles I've witnessed in American films.

3) I appreciated that both characters were flawed, selfish, and imperfect. Dora made several decisions throughout the film that were not entirely honorable, and we still cared about her. Ditto on the kid at times behaving like a brat. You watch this movie and feel you are witnessing real people, not 1-dimensional characters.

4) The ending. Sad but true to life, because I feel that's exactly what would have happened. No sappy tacked-on conclusion that makes you walk away rolling your eyes.

What are your thoughts on this movie?

[Hannibal21]

I'm a sucker for tearjerkers and sad movies, I admit that. But Central Station is one of the few movies in that category that is not only not manipulative, but realistically done and genuinely moving. Have to say I agree with your review, flowrchild. One of the most underrated movies of the 90's is also an unforgettable one, the bond between the old woman and the boy were very well developed, and both actors were both so real in their performances, I really felt for them and at the end when they had to *SPOILERS*...........part, my heart sank and the sad yet moving theme at the end will forever stay in my heart; it was bound to happen, but it wasn't manipulative or sappy at all, but very real and ultimately heartbreaking. I loved it. Fernando Montenegro was outstanding in her role and truly deserved her nom, my second choice for best actress of 1998 (after Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth), Vincius de Oliveira was also remarkable and left quite and impression, he should've gotten at least a nom for best actor or supporting actor; truly one of the best child performances from the past couple of years. All in all, the movie was an experience for me; magical, tragic, sad, moving....all words to describe this simple and beautiful little film. It's worth seeing.

8.5/10