Central do Brasil – Polimi International Film Festival

Directed by Walter Salles. With Fernanda Montenegro and Vinicius de Oliveira.
BRAZIL, 1998 – running time 113 minutes

Original language with English subtitles – free event upon registration

Winner of the Silver Bear award in Berlin for Best Picture and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.

Dora is a retired schoolteacher In Rio de Janeiro where, embittered and cynical, she writes letters for illiterate people but, despite being paid for her work, she doesn’t mail the letters. One day, the orphaned son of one of her customers comes to her home. She decides to “sell” him to a supposed foster couple, but in fact they want to use the poor child for organ trafficking.

Having become aware of this sad reality, she goes to steal little Josué back, and being forced to flee, she embarks on a journey in search of the child’s father, across the endless Brazilian lands…

This road movie is a journey to discover that Brazil which always seems to survive the problems of life and, above all, it is a journey into humanity.

“Here it is, a real film to see with our kids during the holidays, Central do Brasil, directed by Walter Salles. No special effects, no mega funds, no desire to impress. A very simple story, a journey through Brazil, from Rio de Janeiro to the remote inland areas” Luigi Paini, Il Sole-24 Ore

“Central do Brasil is a symbol of the unexpected rebirth of the Brazilian cinema that seemed dead and buried since decades” Lietta Tornabuoni, La Stampa