I didn't sleep well last night, so I decided to find a movie to watch. The original plan was Takeshi Kitano's "Summer of Kijiro", but there was no source on pplive. Suddenly, I saw a collection of "Road Movies" that I searched for in order to watch "The Future", so I looked for this "Central Station" to watch.
"Grand Central" is an unusual road movie. Although it also takes "searching" as the theme, there is no frivolity and rebelliousness that we are familiar with. Dora, a middle-aged woman who writes letters for others in Rio de Janeiro, meets a mother and son. The mother hoped that Dora would write a letter for her to take the child to the north to meet his father, Jesus. Dora's rule was to pay only one new Cruzeiro for writing letters, and two new Cruzeiros for writing and sending them on her behalf—but she would tear up almost all of the letters she asked her to send, because "sending them." It's useless" - "Is it any good for the child to meet a drunkard?". However, the more important reason may be that if the letter is not sent and postage is not paid, Dora will be able to increase Cruzeiro's income, and those who do not hear back will continue to write to her.
The setting of this plot actually reflects the embarrassment of the lack of "credit" ("faith"). As Brazil's largest city, Rio carries too many stories. There is one of the most famous wonders in the world, the "Savior of the World", and it used to have the most devout people. But everything seems to be changing.
If the mother and son don't show up again, or many Ra will continue to write letters that will not be sent day after day. But a few days later, Ana - the mother, and Joshua - her son, came to Dora's booth again and asked if she could rewrite a letter to convince the child's father to come back from the north. Dora was inexplicably annoyed by her mother's devotion. She casually said a few words on the letter paper, but Joshua saw her intention to "not send the letter at all". Of course Ana believed in Dora, so she left with her son contentedly, but as soon as she walked out of the station, she suffered a car accident and died unfortunately.
Joshua, who lost her mother, came to Dora again and wanted her to write to her father because "mother is sick". But Dora rejected Joshua because he had no money. Homeless Joshua had to stay at the station all day. Dora took him home a few days later, and then sent him to an "adoptation agency" in exchange for a commission of a thousand new Cruzeiros.
It's hard for us to speculate on what purpose Dora did. Perhaps because of a homeless child, what kind of fate will be encountered after living on the street is actually obvious. An "institution" of unknown origin may indeed find a "rich adoptive family" for the child as they promised. Perhaps the unknown fate is better than the doomed tragedy, what's more, there is still a lot of commission to get.
Dora, who got the commission, bought a TV and put it at home, but was criticized by her girlfriend who lived with her. Both of them were teachers and were single. After retirement, they had no choice but to fend for themselves. The girlfriend's occupation is not explained in the film, but her makeup and clothing seem to suggest something. After hearing that such an agency might use children for illegal activities, Dora decides to rescue the child and take him north to find "Jesus".
The climax of the film occurs when they encounter a grand religious ceremony on their way to find Jesus. Everyone prayed to God devoutly and expressed loyalty in their own way. But Joshua suddenly broke free from Dora and disappeared into the crowd. Dora had to search desperately, and the exhaustion of the journey and the nervousness caused her to faint suddenly. At this time, the ceremony also reached its climax. Many fireworks burst in the sky together. Old Dora was lying on the ground, and Joshua, who did not know when it appeared, was looking at her with concerned eyes.
This image may symbolize the reconciliation between Joshua and Dora. In fact, from the very beginning, Joshua saw that Dora had no intention of sending letters, and there was a gap between the two. This estrangement comes from the contradiction between the purity that Joshua represents, and Dora's paranoia and self-interest. And even if Dora took the risk to rescue Joshua from the "institution" and took him to find his father, it was only to make up for his inner unease. But when Joshua got lost, Dora searched frantically until she fainted, but it reflected the change in Dora's mood. She began, or began to take things that had nothing to do with herself, more important, became compassionate, and became fond of other people's children. Naturally, Joshua would not ignore such changes.
In the end, Joshua and Dora also failed to find Jesus, but found Jesus' two sons, Joshua's half-brother, Moses and Isaiah. The two said that their father sent a letter to Ana half a year ago, but no one was literate around. The arrival of Dora makes the content of this letter no longer a secret. Here, Dora's character seems to have further connotations. After the three brothers heard the content of the letter, they slept soundly that night. And Dora took advantage of the darkness and quietly left.
The filming technique of the whole film is proficient, the use of long and short shots is reasonable, and the soundtrack is also a highlight, but the most important thing is the use of symbolism. Joshua wanted to find her father, but for Dora it was Jesus. Faith goes from existence to non-existence, and then to regain it, what is needed may just be a journey from south to north.
The Ten Commandments say, Do not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. We didn't see the father of the three brothers. Maybe the man who wasn't at home was really Jesus. He is not at home, but he will definitely come back.
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