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I saw Central Station this weekend, the Brazilian movie about a
bitter, tough retired school teacher who makes her living by
writing letters for illiterates at the Rio train station and
charges a "buck" (according to the subtitles). Fernanda
Montenegro gave a strong performance in a movie that could have
gone maudlin, but doesn't. A central part of the movie is a long
bus ride into a rocky and barren countryside. The well captured
visual images include the bus trip, the commuter trains in Rio,
an incredible peasant religious celebration, and finally, the
rows of cinderblock houses in a workers settlement in the middle
of nowhere. The movie should have gotten a cinematography
nomination for its strong visual styling.
Montenegro brings a playfulness to her character, a small sense
of beauty and possibility. The little boy who travels with her is
sufficiently tough and doe eyed. A decent dramatic story about
people who live in a world without fairytale endings.
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