Vinícius de Oliveira brings a useful hardness to Central Station, resisting the easy charm expected of a child lead. His partnership with Fernanda Montenegro is still the clearest reason for our interest in his work.
Fi1m perspective
Josué does not make it easy for Dora to like him in Central Station (1998), and Vinícius de Oliveira does not soften that difficulty for us. He gives the boy a hardness that Fernanda Montenegro has to answer, rather than simply absorb with adult patience. We rate this performance highly because the child is allowed to be an awkward companion, not a ready-made lesson in kindness. Walter Salles lets the suspicion between them last. De Oliveira never treats the boy's difficult behaviour as something cute.
We were moved by their relationship because neither performance asks us to overlook how wary these two people are of each other. De Oliveira's resistance gives Montenegro something to work against, and their exchanges are stronger for it. The film occasionally offers reassurance too readily; the boy's harder edges help keep that tendency in check. There is skill here in making a child worth watching without making him agreeable. Salles gets the best from the pairing when he leaves both characters room to be difficult.
Salles is also the clearest thread through de Oliveira's subsequent film work. They reunited for Behind the Sun (2001), a period drama set in rural Brazil, and Linha de Passe (2008), an ensemble portrait of family life in São Paulo. Those collaborations carried him beyond his child-actor breakthrough, though fewer prominent leading parts followed. Later supporting roles include Júnior in Neon Bull (2015), with Éder in the television series Sintonia (2019) among his work on the smaller screen.
We would welcome another leading part that gives him a relationship as demanding as the one with Montenegro. The early performance is good enough to make that a reasonable hope, without requiring us to declare every later appearance essential. Start with Central Station for the uneasy partnership, and allow the story its occasional eagerness to reassure.
Biography
Vinícius de Oliveira is a Brazilian actor. He was born on 18 July 1985 in Rio de Janeiro and was discovered by director Walter Salles while working as a shoeshine boy at Santos Dumont Airport. He was selected from among more than 1,500 candidates to play Josué Fontenele de Paiva in the 1998 film Central Station (original title Central do Brasil), opposite Fernanda Montenegro.
De Oliveira has appeared in further films directed by Salles, including Behind the Sun (2001) and Linha de Passe (2008). He has also worked in television and received the Guarani Award for Best Revelation in 1999 for his performance in Central Station.
