In the 1998 film *Central do Brasil* (*Central Station*), the main character is **Dora** (played by **Fernanda Montenegro** in an Oscar-nominated performance).
Dora is a retired schoolteacher who earns a living by writing letters for illiterate people at the Central Station in Rio de Janeiro. At the start of the film, she is depicted as a jaded, cynical, and deeply lonely woman who "plays God" with her clients' messages—often taking their money but never actually mailing the letters, instead keeping them in a drawer or tearing them up.
Her most memorable lines reflect her transformation from a bitter misanthrope to someone who rediscovers her capacity for love and empathy through her journey with the young orphan, Josué.
### 1. The Cynical Introvert
In the early scenes, Dora’s lines highlight her isolation and her low opinion of humanity.
* **"Não tenho filho, nem marido, nem família, nem cachorro."**
* *Translation:* "I have no child, no husband, no family, no dog."
* **Context:** She says this to her friend Irene to justify her lack of attachment and her coldness toward the world. It establishes her as a character who has intentionally stripped her life of emotional "baggage."
### 2. The Harsh Reality
When the young Josué is left alone after his mother’s death, Dora’s initial interactions with him are brutal.
* **"Vaza!"**
* *Translation:* "Scram!" or "Get lost!"
* **Context:** This is her reflexive response when Josué first approaches her for help. It is the definitive word of her character’s "dog-eat-dog" survivalist phase.
* **"Teu pai e tua mãe te puseram no mundo e não deviam ter posto... você é uma desgraça."**
* *Translation:* "Your father and mother put you in the world and they shouldn't have... you are a disgrace."
* **Context:** During an argument on the road, she lashes out at Josué with this cruel assessment, reflecting her own deep-seated resentment toward life and the burdens she feels forced to carry.
### 3. The Reawakening
As the "road movie" elements of the film take hold, Dora begins to soften.
* **"Eu lembro do meu pai me levando na locomotiva que ele dirigia, ele deixou eu, uma menina, dar o apito do trem a viagem inteira."**
* *Translation:* "I remember my father taking me on the locomotive he drove; he let me, a little girl, blow the train whistle the whole trip."
* **Context:** This marks a turning point where Dora shares a rare, tender memory of her own childhood. It’s the first time she connects with Josué over their shared loss and longing for a father figure.
### 4. The Iconic Final Letter
The most memorable and emotionally resonant lines of the film come from the letter Dora writes to Josué at the very end, as she leaves him with his brothers and boards a bus back to Rio.
* **"Você tem razão, seu pai ainda vai aparecer e com certeza ele é tudo aquilo que você diz que ele é."**
* *Translation:* "You’re right, your father will still show up, and for sure he is everything you say he is."
* **Context:** This is Dora’s ultimate act of kindness—affirming Josué’s hope and faith, which she previously tried to crush.
* **"No dia que você quiser lembrar de mim, dá uma olhada no retratinho que a gente tirou junto. Eu digo isso porque tenho medo de que um dia você também me esqueça."**
* *Translation:* "The day you want to remember me, take a look at the little portrait we took together. I say this because I’m afraid that one day you'll also forget me."
* **Context:** This is the film's emotional climax. The woman who started the movie claiming she had no one and needed no one finally admits to her deepest vulnerability: the fear of being forgotten by the one person who truly saw her for who she was.
* **"Tenho saudade do meu pai. Tenho saudade de tudo."**
* *Translation:* "I miss my father. I miss everything."
* **Context:** The final line of the film. It signifies her total "re-humanization." She is no longer hiding behind cynicism; she has allowed herself to feel the weight of nostalgia and loss.