

Central Station
Between hope and solitude, two lives cross and reinvent themselves
An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
TMDB
8.1/10
1,087 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $2.9M
- Box office
- $5.6M
- Language
- Portuguese
- rio de janeiro
- letter
- wilderness
- teacher
- orphan
- railroad
- alcoholic
- missing parent
- long lost relative
- realism
- child trafficking
- death of parent
Top billed cast













Behind the camera
Director
Produced in
Brazil, France
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
Gallery












Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereSundance Film Festival19 Jan 1998
- Theatrical20 Nov 1998
CanadaCA
- PremiereVancouver International Film Festival10 Sept 1998
- PremiereToronto International Film Festival13 Sept 1998
BrazilBR
- TheatricalLRiofilme mj.gov.br3 Apr 1998
- Physical12Videofilmes mj.gov.br9 Sept 2005
- Digital / OTT19 Jun 2024
CzechiaCZ
- TheatricalU13 May 1999
FranceFR
- Theatrical2 Dec 1998
- PhysicalDVD5 Nov 1999
- TheatricalRe-release11 Jul 2018
- PhysicalBlu-Ray12 Apr 2019
- Digital / OTTVOD1 Mar 2020
- Digital / OTTNetflix15 May 2021
GermanyDE
- Premiere6Berlin International Film Festival14 Feb 1998
IrelandIE
- Theatrical15A4K Re-release15 Aug 2025
NetherlandsNL
- Theatrical1211 Mar 1999
- Physical12DVD21 Jan 2002
- TV12Nederland 31 Mar 2003
North MacedoniaMK
- PremiereBrothers Manaki International Film Festival23 Sept 1998
PortugalPT
- TheatricalM/1214 May 1999
South KoreaKR
- Theatrical1227 Feb 1999
SwitzerlandCH
- PremiereFrench speaking region16 Jan 1998
Frequently asked questions
Central Station was released on 3 April 1998.
Audience reviews
1- C7/10
CinemaSerf
9/18/2025
“Dora” (Fernanda Montenegro) used to be a school teacher, but now she sits at a table in the station in Rio de Janeiro and writes letters for the illiterate traveller for a few réals a time. She thinks little of a woman and her young son who stop by, except perhaps that he isn’t the most trusting of boys, but when a tragedy promptly befalls this pair she finds herself being asked to write another letter by the young …
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