Central do Brasil (1998)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Walter Salles

Writers:

Marcos Bernstein (writer)
João Emanuel Carneiro (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

20 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

He was looking for the father he never knew. She was looking for a second chance.

Plot:

An emotive journey of a former school teacher, who write letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, in search for the father he never knew.

Plot Keywords:

Letter | Boy | Teacher | Brazil | Human Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Fernanda Montenegro	...	Dora
Marília Pêra	...	Irene
Vinícius de Oliveira	...	Josué
Soia Lira	...	Ana
Othon Bastos	...	Cesar
Otávio Augusto	...	Pedrão
Stela Freitas	...	Yolanda
Matheus Nachtergaele	...	Isaías
Caio Junqueira	...	Moisés
Socorro Nobre	...	Dora's Client
Manoel Gomes	...	Dora's Client
Roberto Andrade	...	Dora's Client
Sheyla Kenia	...	Dora's Client
Malcon Soares	...	Dora's Client
Maria Fernandes	...	Dora's Client
Maria Marlene	...	Dora's Client
Christano Camargo	...	Dora's Client
Jorseba-Sebastiano Oliveira	...	Dora's Client
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Andréa Albuquerque	...	Dora's Client
Sidney Antunes	...	Crente
Rita Assemany	...	Jessé's Wife
Patrícia Brás	...	Dora's Client
João Braz
Marcelo Carneiro	...	Ladrão
Telma Cunha
José Pedro da Costa Filho	...	Cameló
Estelina Moreira da Silva
José Pereira da Silva	...	Dora's Client
Felícia de Castro
Harildo Deda	...	Bené
Marcos de Lima	...	Bené's Son
Preto de Linha
Antônio dos Santos	...	Dora's Client
Berto Filho	...	Romeiro 1
Fernando Fulco
Gildasio Leite
Sônia Leite
Edivaldo Lima	...	Jessé's Son
Nanego Lira
Diego Lopes Filho
Dona Luzia
Antônio Marcos
Mário Mendes	...	João
Maria Menezes
Esperança Motta	...	Prostituta
Manuel José Neves
Antonieta Noronha	...	Violeta
Zezão Pereira
Everaldo Pontes	...	Dora's Client
José Ramos
Iami Rebouças
João Rodrigues
Gideon Rosa	...	Jessé
Inaldo Santana	...	Dora's Client
Cícero Santos	...	Dora's Client
Dona Severina
Eliane Silva	...	Dora's Client
Ingrid Trigueiro	...	Dora's Client

Directed by
Walter Salles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marcos Bernstein		writer
João Emanuel Carneiro		writer
Walter Salles		story

Produced by
Lillian Birnbaum	....	executive producer
Paulo Brito	....	associate producer
Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre	....	producer
Afonso Coaracy	....	line producer
Arthur Cohn	....	producer
Paulo Carlos De Brito	....	associate producer
Jack Gajos	....	associate producer
Thomas Garvin	....	executive producer
Donald Ranvaud	....	executive producer
Elisa Tolomelli	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jaques Morelenbaum
Antonio Pinto

Cinematography by
Walter Carvalho

Film Editing by
Felipe Lacerda
Isabelle Rathery

Casting by
Sérgio Machado

Production Design by
Cassio Amarante
Carla Caffé

Costume Design by
Cristina Camargo

Makeup Department
Antoine Garabedian	....	head makeup artist

Production Management
Beto Bruno	....	production supervisor
Afonso Coaracy	....	production manager
Claudia Reis	....	assistant production manager
Severo Santos	....	assistant production manager
Marcelo Torres	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
João Emanuel Carneiro	....	assistant director
Vinicius Coimbra	....	assistant director
Kátia Lund	....	assistant director
Sérgio Machado	....	assistant director

Art Department
Mônica Costa	....	set designer
Marcelo Larrea	....	assistant art director
Marcelo Larrea	....	set designer

Sound Department
Jean-Claude Brisson	....	sound
François Groult	....	sound
Bruno Tarrière	....	sound mixer
Mark A. Van Der Willigen	....	sound

Special Effects by
Sergio Farjalla Jr.	....	special effects coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Alberto Bellezia	....	second assistant camera
Marcelo Brasil	....	first assistant camera
José Gomes	....	grip
Ulisses Malta Jr.	....	electrician

Casting Department
Daniela Braga	....	casting assistant

Editorial Department
João Cutileiro Nunes	....	assistant editor
Yvan Lucas	....	color timer
Joao Nunes	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Bernardo Bessler	....	musician: violin
Marie Christine S. Bessler	....	musician: viola
Michel Bessler	....	musician: violin
Luiz Brasil	....	musician: guitar, viola, and mandolin
José Alves da Silva	....	musician: violin
João Daltro de Almeida	....	musician: violin
Denner de Castro Campolina	....	musician: double bass
Ricardo Amado de Silva	....	musician: violin
Walter Hack	....	musician: violin
Márcio Malard	....	musician: cello (as Márcio Eymard Malard)
Edu Morelembaum	....	musician: piano
Jaques Morelenbaum	....	musician: cello
Giancarlo Pareschi	....	musician: violin
Jesuína N. Passaroto	....	musician: viola
Paschoal Perrotta Cordas	....	music arranger: strings
Paschoal Perrotta Cordas	....	musician: violin
Antonio Pinto	....	musician: piano
Jorge Kundert Ranevsky	....	musician: cello
Siba	....	musician: rebec
Marcos Suzano	....	musician: percussion

Other crew
Daniela Arantes	....	production assistant
Claudia Bejarano	....	production secretary
Isabelle Davis	....	production assistant
Edouard de Chabaneix	....	production assistant
Mónica Lima	....	production assistant
Wellington Pingo	....	set manager
Adelina Pontual	....	continuity
Wellington Silva	....	production assistant
Maria Fatima Toledo	....	coach

Production Companies

• Canal+
• MACT Productions
• Riofilmes
• VideoFilmes

Distributors

• Buena Vista International (Sweden) (1999) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Mars Distribution (1998) (France) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (1998) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Buena Vista International (Argentina)
• Buena Vista International (Germany)
• EDKO Film (Hong Kong)
• Europa Carat (Brazil) (VHS)
• Europa Filmes (Brazil) (DVD)
• Filmes Lusomundo (Portugal)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Central Station (UK) (USA)
Central do Brasil (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

113 min | Canada:115 min | Finland:110 min | Netherlands:108 min | Germany:108 min

Country:

Brazil | France

Language:

Portuguese | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12/9 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Central do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Dora's new television, bought with the money she earned selling Josué, presents a popular Brazilian TV program called "Topa Tudo Por Dinheiro," which means "Agree to Everything For Money."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dora's Client: [dictating a letter] My darling, My heart belongs to you. No matter what you've done, I still love you. I love you. While you're locked in there all those years, I'll be locked up out here, waiting for you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ruínas da Babilônia

Very Moving Film

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.