The most loudly acclaimed title in the film selection meetings for this semester, Central Station was also well received at the Berlin film festival, winning the Golden Bear award and Best Actress for Fernanda Montenegro. Montenegro plays Dora, an old woman who writes and sends letters for a horde of illiterate customers in Rio de Janeiro's teeming central railway station. They are eager to communicate with their friends and relatives in far-off regions. Dora has become cynical and disillusioned by her exposure to the harshness of life and often does not bother sending the letters in what she deems hopeless cases. However, when one of her customers is killed in an accident, Dora is forced to take responsibility for Josue (de Oliveira), a young boy who has never seen his father.

Don't be misled-this is not a movie about a crusty old woman with a heart of gold being won over by the innocence of youth. Dora is only too keen to be rid of Josue and initially sells him to an orphanage so she can buy a new TV set. It is only after urging by her friend Irene (Pra) that Dora agrees to steal the boy back and they set off on a road trip in search of his missing father. Somehow though, the combination works-the developing relationship between the boy and the woman mirrors Brazil, with its strange mixture of traditions and the 20th century. Central Station is a rewarding and powerful film, a masterpiece of stunning cinematography and sensitive direction.