Here's
a real hidden gem for people looking for something different but
wonderful. This tells the tale of Dora, an aging and lonely retired
schoolteacher who makes ends meet by writing letters for illiterate
Brazilians in a train station. One day a woman and her young boy
want to write the boy's estranged father, whom the boy wants to meet
in the worst way. A fateful accident kills the boy's mother, leaving
the boy a virtual orphan since he doesn't know his father. Dora
takes the boy in but sells custody to a local businessman from the
train station, but her conscence gets the better of her when she
discovers the man is in a black market operation that kills
youngsters for their organs. She rescues the boy and together they
go in search of the boy's long lost father.
Truly a
delightful film and despite the amateurish acting in supporting
roles, very moving as well. Montenegro is outstanding as Dora, and
de Oliveira as the young boy is charming even if he's a bit pushy for
a kid. The plotting is a bit predictable, but the screenwriting has
a depth that makes everything fresh and profound. Funny yet tragic,
sad yet uplifting, and one of the best films of 1998.
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