Brazil Central is a Franco-Brazilian movie drama of 1998. The screenplay is by Mark Bernstein and João Emanuel Carneiro, story-based director Walter Salles.

It is a sentimental road movie, from the friendship between a woman who has a second chance and a boy who wants to find their roots. The film was inspired by Alice in the Cities, Wim Wenders.

Synopsis

Dora (Fernanda Montenegro) is a woman who works in Brazil's Central station writing letters for illiterate people; one of its customers, Ana appears with his son Joshua (Vinicius de Oliveira) asking them to write a letter to her husband saying that Joshua wants to visit him one day. Leaving the station, Ana dies hit by a bus and Joshua, only 9 years and with nowhere to go, you are forced to live on the station. Pity on the boy, Dora decides to help him and take him to his father who lives in northeastern backlands. In the middle of this journey through Brazil obstacles they encounter and discoveries as the film reveals how the lives of people migrating across the country in an attempt to achieve better quality of life and be able to recover their relatives left behind.

Production

As a co-production between Brazil and France, the film was chosen by the French Ministry of Culture to receive funds from the Fonds Sud Cinema, to its financing.

Filming took nine weeks, on location in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco and Ceará.

Launch

Brazil Central, was first shown in a regional film shows in Switzerland on 16 January 1998, on January 19 was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States. On February 14, 1998, was shown at the Berlin Film Festival, its launch in Brazil took place only on 3 April of the same year.

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film is "Wonderfully desemprenhado by Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro" and that "[Walter] Salles brings great tenderness and surprise to the events that punctuate this odyssey (...) and Ms. Montenegro recalls Giulietta Masina in both bad mood and appearance "and concludes" Salles directed simply and vigilantly with a look that seems to penetrate all the characters. "in its review, the Guardian said that" the most surprising is that the film was made by a Brazilian documentary filmmaker, most of the cast and crew had never worked in film before, and one of the highlights is a nine-year-old, who had never been to a cinema (...) Even more miraculous is that this intimate epic rediscovery appears after a decade in which the Brazilian cinema almost ceased to exist. "

Paul Tatara, for CNN, wrote that "Salles new neo-realism in catch 'Central of Brazil' (...) the plot is interesting and the whole film is extremely well run (...) and will not be surprised if Montenegro is nominated for the Best Actress award. " Owen Gleiberman magazine Entertainment Weekly, wrote "In general (...) Salles, as Vittorio De Sica and Jean Renoir, displays a pure sensation in his film."

The British magazine Total Film, wrote "The former documentary filmmaker Walter Salles has created a captivating lyrical journey 'Central of Brazil' (...) Filled with religious references, the film is also blessed with two excellent performances of veteran Fernanda Montenegro and newcomer Vinicius de Oliveira. "

"This Brazilian film shrewd, tough and generous, directed by Walter Salles, moves with certainty and conviction of the absolute negation to something like optimism. The great star of Brazil, Fernanda Montenegro rivals legendary actresses like Jeanne Moreau and Giulietta Masina in its ability to act. " David Denby wrote for The New Yorker.

For film critic and American screenwriter Roger Ebert "The film's success rests largely on the shoulders of Fernanda Montenegro."

Ken Fox of TV Guide wrote that "The Brazilian director Walter Salles formed a rare type of film (...) filled with real poignancy moments and epiphanies soft (...) with extraordinary delicacy."

"With exciting story, well basted, accurate interpretations and technically perfect, Brazil Central is a realism bath in a film culture deeply marked by delusional speech and clumsy metaphors (...) Walter Salles drew a portrait of Brazil that avoids stereotypes ( ...) Much of the film's success is due to the chemistry between Fernanda Montenegro and the boy Vinicius de Oliveira. " Marcelo Camacho wrote for the magazine Veja.