Central Station: Movie, DVD Review (2009)

Directed by Walter Salles, written by Joao Emanuel Carneiro and Marcos Bernstein, 115 minutes, rated R. In Portuguese with English subtitles.

For some, Walter Salles’ “Central Station” will undoubtedly recall John Cassavetes’ “Gloria,” the 1980 film that featured the unlikely relationship of a tough New York blonde on the lam with a young, recently orphaned boy.

“Central Station” parallels Cassavetes’ film in that it features a similar relationship, yet it has none of the melodrama that gave Cassavetes’ film verve. For Salles, whose best films are his documentaries, the results are mixed: His film makes for a deeper, richer experience that traces the landscapes of the human heart while occasionally losing itself in moments of uninteresting introspection.

The film follows Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), a retired teacher who writes letters for Rio de Janeiro's illiterate amid the city's chaotic Central Station. She is a bitter, lonely cynic who never sends the letters she writes, instead choosing to throw them away and keep for herself the money she’s already collected for postage. For Salles, Dora is a representation of the city itself--hard as the asphalt, uneasy on the eyes, yet vulnerable to any unexpected shift in the hum of activity.

In Dora’s life, the shift comes when she meets Ana (Soia Lira) and her son Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), who ask Dora to write a letter to Josue’s dead-beat dad. Soon after, Ana is dead herself, having been struck down by a city bus, thus leaving Josue an orphan--and Dora the opportunity to regain whatever shred of humanity she has left.

She doesn’t. Taking the boy home, she quickly sells him to an orphanage, counts her money with unabashed glee, and buys a brand new TV. No conscience there--until her friend, Irene (Marilia Pera), gives her one: “That’s not an orphanage you sold him to! They’ll kill the boy and sell his organs!”

And so begins Dora’s life on the run. She grudgingly steals the boy back, gets them both on a bus, and soon is forced to face herself, her choices, her past and her hardened heart as the film gives itself over to the uneven pleasures of a road movie.

On the surface, “Central Station” may appear to be just another film about an odd couple who find love for one another after an initial bout of hostility bordering on hatred. But Salles is too good a director to be so shallow, and his script--written by Joao Emanuel Carneiro and Marcos Bernstein--is hardly the stuff of confection.

Marked by its restraint, its subtlety and its two strong performances--the Academy Award-nominated Montenegro, and the remarkable, 10-year-old Oliveira--Salles’ film may wait too long to deliver its emotional wallop, but when it comes, it’s as unforgettable as the film’s bus-bound relationship.

Grade: B+