Central Station
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: November 20, 1998 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The story is much less about its resolution than the experience along the way. At its best, Central Station is a movie of small textures and fleeting moments, the intangibles that pass between people. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This 1998 film held my interest for two hours, even taking on an epic feel when it turns into a road movie. It's not bad by any means, but it also happens to resemble a lot of other movies. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The performances are engaging and the views of rural Brazil are captivating, making the film a solid audience-pleaser even though its story often seems familiar and sentimental. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
A richly tender and moving experience. Read full review
70
Film ThreatRon Wells
I wasn't in the mood for this film, but it got to me anyway. Read full review
40
Film.comPeter Brunette
It's blatantly manipulative pairing of an adorable young boy and a selfish, honesty-challenged older woman [is] so calculating that I could never get emotionally involved.
90
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
For Fernanda Montenegro, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Italy's late Giulietta Masina (Federico Fellini's wife and frequent star) in appearance and talent, "Central Station" is a personal triumph and a rich cinematic experience. Read full review
90
New Times (L.A.)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. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Normally the sound in movie theaters is of popcorn crunching. But the sound at theaters where Central Station is showing is of hearts breaking.
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)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. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A touching, well-made motion picture whose only real flaw lies in the overfamiliar storyline. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Fernanda Montenegro gives a landmark performance. Read full review
88
San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen Johnson
Salles' solid narrative is only deceptively simple; there is a lot of dimension and depth to this gentle, sometimes painful portrait of two wanderers. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubJoshua Klein
While the cinematography is gorgeous and the script extremely sharp, Central Station owes much of its strength to its two mismatched leads. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Easily among the top 10 films made last year. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
The film’s final twist makes the story close with a satisfying click, though there is something a little smooth about it; for me it works against the story’s social-realist credentials and its evident ambitions for something more mysterious and spiritually resonant. Yet there is great pleasure to be had in those fervent, crowd-pleasing lead performances from Montenegro and de Oliveira. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
There's plenty of room for sentimentality here, but the wonder of Salles' film is all in the telling. Read full review
90
The New YorkerDavid Denby
An intimate epic.
90
TimeRichard Schickel
[Salles]'s imagery, like his storytelling, is clear, often unaffectedly lovely, and quietly, powerfully haunting. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Filled with moments of real poignancy and gentle epiphanies, the film is also marked by strong Christian undercurrents, but, like everything else in Salles's film, they're handled with extraordinary delicacy and never feel exclusionary. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
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. Read full review
70
Village VoiceGary Dauphin
A mildly saccharine but kind-hearted movie. Read full review
90
Washington PostRita Kempley
Profoundly affecting. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A touching and unusual road movie-cum-buddy film. Read full review
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