Central Station 4K 1998 Ultra HD 2160p

Dona Dora (Montenegro), a retired teacher, earns a living by writing letters for illiterate people at Rio de Janeiro's Central Station. Relying on her own life experience, she decides which letters to send, which to throw away, and which to put in her desk drawer. One day, Ana, a young and attractive woman who has come with her ten-year-old son Joseo, asks her to write a letter. She is writing to Jesus, Joseo's father. Dora realizes that Ana wants to meet her beloved, and the boy's desire to see his father is an excuse. So Dora writes the letter herself, and Ana approves it completely. A few minutes later, while crossing the street, Ana is killed by a car, leaving the boy completely alone. He has no one in Rio. At first, Dora sells him for 2,000 reais to some shady characters who promise that he will be adopted by a wealthy family from Europe or North America, but the next day she kidnaps Joseo, even though it could get her killed. She can't go home. So Dora sets off “to the ends of the earth” across the country to take Joseo to his father. On the road, the lonely “old woman,” as Joseo calls her, becomes attached to the boy...

I simply don't have the words to describe this film. Words such as kindness, understanding, touching, and humane seem trite and have lost their original meaning. It is films like this that allow us to consider cinema an art form.

Golden Bear Award to director Walter Salles, Silver Bear Award to actress Fernanda Montenegro, Ecumenical Jury Prize in 1998 at the West Berlin International Film Festival. Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, British Academy Film Award for Best Non-English Language Film, two Oscar nominations: Best Foreign Language Film (Walter Salles) and Best Actress (Fernanda Montenegro).

User Review

For some reason, it's hard to find a starting point. This story pierces my heart as soon as I see the “living” faces of ordinary passers-by who rush to read their letters. Small tragedies flash by, then drown in the raging sea of the big city—Rio de Janeiro, in a country where cruelty and religiosity have tied such a tight knot that it is impossible to breathe. And in this city, two people will meet, and a great journey will begin—towards each other and towards themselves.

Dora is an aging pensioner, disappointed, indifferent, angry, and lonely, like most of us. She earns a living by writing letters for illiterate senders. But whether their letters reach their recipients is up to Dora herself.

Jose is a nine-year-old boy left alone in a scary and uncomfortable city, cherishing one dream: to meet his father, whose image is as ideal as it is implausible.

Fate will bring these two together. Cynical Dora, awakened by a meticulous little worm named Conscience, will dare to perform a feat. Only she herself does not yet know that once she takes on responsibility, she must carry it through to the very end. And in her soul, flowers of such a bizarre and unusual shape will bloom, but everyone can feel them.

It's genius. It's simple. It's indescribable. When Dora rides the bus and writes a letter to Jose, this old and embittered mountain asks him not to forget her, that all dreams will come true and that his father will return, because he is still a child and must believe in this, and she has become a child, crying, writing the letter of her life in one breath... Where will it fly, where will it end up? It will reach your hearts and form a lump in your throats. Because it cannot be otherwise. Otherwise, you are dead.

And at the end, beautiful music will sound, and through its overtones, voices will be heard. Dozens of voices reading letters of a lifetime. They will lie somewhere out there — in eternity, imprinted by the invisible hand of memory. And one day, the cherished envelopes will meet. And it will not be too early. And it will not be too late. It will be just right.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (82.7 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Info Audio

#Portuguese: FLAC 2.0
#Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
#French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0

Info Subtitles