Movies Like Central Station (1998)

Central Station is a 1998 drama film from Walter Salles with a MovieMagicScore of 8.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Invisible Life and Bagdad Cafe.

Drama

Invisible Life

2019

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1950. In the conservative home of the Gusmão family, Eurídice and Guida are two inseparable sisters who support each other. While Guida can share with her younger sister the details of her romantic adventures, Eurídice finds in her older sister the encouragement she needs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional pianist.

7.8

MagicScore

Bagdad Cafe

1987

A German woman named Jasmin stumbles upon a dilapidated motel/diner in the middle of nowhere. Her unusual appearance and demeanor are at first suspicious to Brenda, the exasperated owner who has difficulty making ends meet. But when an unlikely magic sparks between the two women, this lonely desert outpost is transformed into a thriving and popular oasis.

7.2

MagicScore

Follow That Bird

1985

Big Bird is sent to live far from Sesame Street by a pesky social worker, who thinks it would be better for him to live with other birds. Unhappy, Big Bird runs away from his foster home, prompting the rest of the Sesame Street gang to go on a cross-country journey to find him.

6.3

MagicScore

The Hitcher

1986

On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.

7.0

MagicScore

A Star Is Born

2018

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

7.5

MagicScore

Record of a Tenement Gentleman

1947

An errant salaryman's son gets lost until a man from the Tokyo tenements brings him to vendor Tane, who's reluctant to let the kid board.

7.2

MagicScore

Compartment No. 6

2021

A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection.

6.9

MagicScore

C'è tempo

2019

After the death of his estranged father, professional rainbow-watcher Stefano finds out he has a 13-year-old half-brother, and that he must become his legal guardian to receive the inheritance.

6.2

MagicScore

The Prince and the Pirate

2001

After his father's death, elementary school teacher Leopoldo discovers he has to share the inheritance with a half-brother he didn't know existed: hustler and small-time crook Melchiorre, currently in jail.

5.4

MagicScore

#10

Hugo

2011

Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father. Accompanied by the goddaughter of an embittered toy merchant, Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

A Dark Song

2016

A determined young woman and a damaged occultist risk their lives and souls to perform a dangerous ritual that will grant them what they want.

6.3

MagicScore

#12

The Middle of the World

2003

Romão, illiterate and unemployed, feels destiny drawing him on an odyssey to Rio de Janeiro in pursuit of a job and a decent life. A family of seven journeys 2,000 miles across the hinterlands of Brazil on bicycles. Along the way, the story explores the inner dynamics of a family facing a great challenge with the courage to pursue dreams.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Road to Rio

1947

Scat Sweeney and Hot Lips Barton, two out of work musicians, stow away onboard a ship bound for Rio, after accidentally setting fire to the big top of a circus. They then get mixed up with a potential suicide Lucia, who first thanks them, then unexpectedly turns them over to the ship's captain. When they find out that she has been hypnotized, to go through a marriage of convenience, when the ship reaches Rio, the boys turn up at the ceremony, in order to stop the wedding, and to help catch the crooks.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Pather Panchali

1955

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. His wife, Sarbojaya, looks after their rebellious daughter, Durga, and young son, Apu. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life.

7.8

MagicScore

#15

Try Seventeen

2002

Teenager Jones has opted not to go to college and is instead renting a room in a boarding house to work on his writing skills. Soon, Jones finds himself dividing his time between two women: a young actress named Lisa and a photographer named Jane. After Jane's ex-boyfriend arrives to help her recover from a car accident, Jones begins to understand just how much he cares for her.

6.2

MagicScore

#16

Bus 174

2002

Documentary depicts what happened in Rio de Janeiro on June 12th 2000, when bus 174 was taken by an armed young man, threatening to shoot all the passengers. Transmitted live on all Brazilian TV networks, this shocking and tragic-ending event became one of violence's most shocking portraits, and one of the scariest examples of police incompetence and abuse in recent years.

7.3

MagicScore

#17

Silver Linings Playbook

2012

After losing his job and wife, and spending time in an institution, a former teacher winds up living with his parents. He wants to rebuild his life and reconcile with his wife, but his father would be happy if he shared his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. Things get complicated when he meets Tiffany Maxwell who offers to help him reconnect with his wife if he will do something very important for her in exchange.

7.1

MagicScore

#18

Love in the Time of Cholera

2007

In Colombia just after the Great War, an old man falls from a ladder; dying, he professes great love for his wife. After the funeral, a man calls on the widow - she dismisses him angrily. Flash back more than 50 years to the day Florentino Ariza, a telegraph boy, falls in love with Fermina Daza, the daughter of a mule trader.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

The Wizard of Oz

1925

A farm girl learns she is a princess and is swept away by a tornado to the land of Oz.

5.4

MagicScore

#20

Warrior

2011

The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.

7.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Central Station?

The top films similar to Central Station by MovieMagicScore are Invisible Life (7.8), Bagdad Cafe (7.2), Follow That Bird (6.3). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Central Station worth watching?

Central Station holds a MovieMagicScore of 8.1/10 from 1,074 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Central Station?

Central Station (1998) is a drama film directed by Walter Salles, starring Fernanda Montenegro, Vinícius de Oliveira, Marília Pêra.

Where can I find more recommendations like Central Station?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Invisible Life Movies like Bagdad Cafe Movies like Follow That Bird Movies like The Hitcher Movies like A Star Is Born Movies like Record of a Tenement Gentleman

About movies like Central Station

This ranked list pairs Central Station (1998), a drama film from Walter Salles, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Fernanda Montenegro take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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