Central Station

Brazilian director Walter Salles, whose latest film, I’m Still Here, was a huge hit at the IFI earlier this year, made his international breakthrough with Central Station, which also marked his first collaboration with the great Fernanda Montenegro. For her work, she received the rare accolade of a Best Actress Oscar nomination for a non-English language performance, while Central Station itself was also nominated for Best Foreign Language film. Cynical, bitter Dora (Montenegro) is a retired schoolteacher who makes a living writing letters on behalf of the illiterate. When a customer dies, a bemused Dora, to her chagrin, finds herself responsible for the woman’s child, nine-year-old Josué (Vinícius de Oliveira), who she accompanies on a trip in search of his unknown absentee father. Salles eschews overt sentimentality but still creates a deeply moving film, anchored by Montenegro’s careful, thoughtful performance.