Synopsis

A former schoolteacher who earns a living writing letters for illiterate travelers is drawn into the life of a young boy after his mother dies at Rio de Janeiro's Central do Brasil railway station. Together, they travel into Brazil's northeast in search of the boy's absent father, forming an unlikely bond while confronting poverty, faith, and the possibility of emotional renewal.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film's original Portuguese title is Central do Brasil, referring to the railway station in Rio de Janeiro where much of the story begins.

• It was produced as a Brazil-France co-production and received support from Fonds Sud Cinema, a French cultural funding program for films from developing countries.

• The screenplay was written by Joao Emanuel Carneiro and Marcos Bernstein, based on an original story idea by Walter Salles.

• Central Station premiered internationally in January 1998 before its Brazilian release on April 3, 1998.

• The film won the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

• It received two Academy Award nominations at the 71st Academy Awards: Best Actress and Best Foreign Language Film.

• The film also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.

• Its international success helped draw renewed attention to Brazilian cinema during the country's late-1990s cinematic revival.