Central Station - Characters & Cast

Initially, her motivation is pure self-preservation and financial gain. She wants to be rid of Josué as quickly as possible. After rescuing him, her motivation shifts to a complex mix of guilt, responsibility, and a flicker of long-buried compassion. Ultimately, her motivation becomes a genuine, selfless desire to see Josué safe and to honor his quest, which in turn heals her own past wounds related to her own father.

Dora begins as a profoundly cynical and embittered antihero. A lonely, retired schoolteacher, she has built a protective wall of sarcasm and selfishness around herself, cheating her illiterate customers and showing no empathy. The unwanted responsibility of Josué forces her onto a path of reluctant heroism. Her journey is a gradual and painful shedding of this cynicism. Through arguments, moments of abandonment, and eventual dependence on Josué, she rediscovers her maternal instincts and her capacity for love, completing an arc from a heartless loner to a selfless, caring individual who finds purpose in connecting with another human being.

Josué's motivation is simple and powerful: to meet his father. This desire gives him purpose and the strength to endure hardship. He idealizes his father as the solution to his homelessness and loneliness, a figure who will provide him with a home and identity. This unwavering goal propels the entire narrative forward.

Josué starts as a boy defined by loss, suddenly orphaned in a massive, indifferent city. Despite his vulnerability, he is resilient, stubborn, and fiercely determined to find the father he has idealized. He acts as the catalyst for Dora's transformation. His arc is one of finding a new family in an unexpected place. While his initial goal is to find his biological father, he forges a powerful, filial bond with Dora. He learns to trust again after his world is shattered, and in the end, he is left with a new, albeit broken, family, but with a stronger sense of his own identity and roots.

Irene is motivated by genuine friendship and a basic sense of morality. She cares for Dora but is not afraid to challenge her cruelest impulses. Her primary role is to push Dora toward the right decision by highlighting the terrible consequences of selling Josué.

Irene is a static character who serves as Dora's moral compass. She is Dora's neighbor and friend, providing a sounding board for Dora's cynical complaints. Unlike Dora, Irene retains a fundamental sense of decency and empathy. Her arc is minor but crucial; she is the one who voices the horror of what will happen to Josué, planting the seed of guilt that forces Dora to act and begin her journey of redemption. She represents the humanity that Dora has lost and must reclaim.

Their motivation is rooted in family and faith. They have been waiting patiently for their father to return as he promised in a letter. They are driven by a desire to keep the family unit intact and to honor their father's memory and wishes, which includes welcoming the brother they never knew he had.

As Josué's half-brothers, Isaías and Moisés represent the end of the physical journey. They are simple, kind carpenters living a modest life, waiting for the return of their father, Jesus. Their appearance provides the film's final twist, revealing that Josué has found a family, but not in the way he expected. They are welcoming and good-hearted, immediately accepting Josué as their brother and providing him with the home he sought. Their existence confirms his father's reality while simultaneously cementing his absence.