80
While the cinematography is gorgeous and the script extremely sharp, Central Station owes much of its strength to its two mismatched leads.
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What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
The New York Times by Elvis Mitchell
There's plenty of room for sentimentality here, but the wonder of Salles' film is all in the telling.
90
New Times (L.A.) by Jean Oppenheimer
But in a calculated move that pays off handsomely, the picture's remarkable power is reserved for the end, when the intertwining themes coalesce in an extraordinarily satisfying and stirring way.
91
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
A richly tender and moving experience.
70
New York Magazine (Vulture) by Peter Rainer
In this otherwise rather schematic swatch of social catharsis, Brazil's Fernanda Montenegro gives the best performance by an actress I've seen all year.
90
[Salles]'s imagery, like his storytelling, is clear, often unaffectedly lovely, and quietly, powerfully haunting.
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
Easily among the top 10 films made last year.
75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie's success rests largely on the shoulders of Fernanda Montenegro, an actress who successfully defeats any temptation to allow sentimentality to wreck her relationship with the child.
70
I wasn't in the mood for this film, but it got to me anyway.
80
Montenegro carries the film su-perbly with her portrait of gritty strength being worn down to a state of tattered vulnerability, while newcomer de Oliveira, a shoeshine boy who won the role over 1,500 other aspirants, is engagingly natural and happily doesn't beg for viewer sympathy.