When the famous Brazilian director Walter Salles was casting for the movie “Central Station” in 1998, he selected many students from art schools, but none of them demonstrated the level of talent that he needed for the main character. One day, Walter, who was at a loss for what to do, went to the city’s western suburbs to run errands. He met a child who was running a shoe-shining business in the square next to the train station. The kid asked, “Sir, do you need your shoes shined?” Walter looked at the newly polished leather shoes on his feet and shook his head.
Just as Walter was walking away, he saw the little boy chasing after him, red-faced, and with a pleading look in his eyes: “Sir, I haven’t eaten for a whole day. Can you lend me some money? I’ll work harder, polish your shoes starting tomorrow, and I promise to return the money to you in a week!” Walter looked at the ragged and thin little boy in front of him and couldn’t help but feel pity, so he took out a few coins and handed them over. After saying “thank you,” the little boy trotted away.
Walter shook his head; he was too used to beggars lying to give any credence to what the child said. Half a month later, Walter had forgotten about the incident. Unexpectedly, when he passed that train station again, he suddenly saw a thin figure waving at him from a distance and shouting: “Sir, please wait!” When the other person ran over, sweating profusely, and handed him a few coins, Walter recognized that this was the little boy who had borrowed money from him last time. Panting, the child said, “Sir, I’ve been waiting for you to show up for a long time, and now I can finally return the money to you!” Walter looked at the coins in his hand, wet with sweat, and a warm feeling suddenly surged in his heart.
Walter looked at the little boy in front of him again and suddenly found that he fit the character image of the little boy protagonist in the movie that he had imagined. Walter put a few coins into the little boy’s hand and said, “This small amount of money is what I gave you as a gift. You don’t have to pay it back. Tomorrow you can come to see me in [the director’s office] of [the film company] in [the city center.] I will give you a big surprise.”
Early the following day, the doorman told Walter that a large group of children were waiting for him outside. Walter was completely puzzled; when he came out to see what was going on, he saw the little boy running over to him excitedly and saying: “Sir, these children are also homeless orphans like I am. I brought them along because they could also use a big surprise!” Walter had never expected a poor and homeless child to have such a kind heart! Through repeated observation and screening, Walter found that among these children, there were indeed a few who were more intelligent than this little boy and more suitable to play the role of the little protagonist in the script.
In the end, however, he hired the little boy for the part. He wrote the following words in the “Reason” column of the employment contract: “When you are facing difficulties, and yet are still willing to share your good fortune, there is no need to explore your personality further. The character that I am casting for describes precisely this type of kind, broad-minded, and selfless person.”
The little boy’s name was Vinícius de Oliveira. Under the direction of Walter, Vinniski successfully played the role of the little boy protagonist in the Brazilian film “Central do Brasil” (Central do Brasil), which was completed in 1998. He also won many laurels, such as the Berlin International Film Festival and the Golden Bear Award.
A few years later, Wennisky, who had become the chairman of a film and television company, wrote an autobiography titled “My Acting Career.” On the title page of the book, there is an inscription written by Walter himself: “There is no need to test kindness. It is his sense of kindness that once allowed him to give up opportunities in the hopes of benefitting other children; it is also his sense of compassion that enabled him to never miss the opportunities in life!”
善良無須考核
巴西著名導演沃爾特·塞勒斯（Walter Salles）1998年在為電影「中央車站」選角的時候，挑選 了很多藝校裡的學生，但都不夠滿意。一天，為此一籌莫展的沃爾特 到城市西郊辦事，在火車站的站前廣場上遇到了一個十多歲的擦鞋小 男孩；小男孩問道：「先生，您需要擦鞋嗎？」沃爾特低頭看看自己 腳上剛剛擦過不久的皮鞋，搖搖頭拒絕了。
就在沃爾特轉身走出十幾步之際，忽然見到那個小男孩紅著臉追上來，眸子裡現出祈求的眼神：「先生，我整整一天沒吃東西了，您能借給我幾個錢嗎？我從明天開始多多努力擦鞋， 保證一周後把錢還給您！」沃爾特看著面前這個衣衫襤褸、瘦小乾癟的小男孩，不由得動了憐憫之心，就掏出幾枚硬幣遞到小男孩手裡；小男孩感激的道了一聲「謝謝」後，一溜煙的小跑著離開了。
沃爾特搖了搖頭，因為這樣的街頭小騙子他已經司空見慣了。半個月後，沃爾特已經將借錢給小男孩的事忘的一乾二淨，不料，在他又一次經過西郊火車站時，突然看到一個瘦小的身影離的老遠就向他招手 喊道：「先生，請等一等！」等到對方滿頭大汗的跑過來把幾枚硬幣交給他時，沃爾特才認出這就是上次向他借錢的那個擦鞋小男孩；小男孩氣喘吁吁的說：「先生，我在這裡等您很久了，今天總算可以把錢還給您！」沃爾特看著自己手裡被汗水濡濕的硬幣，心頭陡然激蕩起一股暖暖的熱流。
沃爾特再次端詳面前的小男孩，忽然發現他很符合自己腦海中構想的電影裡那個小男孩主人公的角色形象。沃爾特把幾枚硬幣塞進小男孩衣兜裡，說：「這點零錢就算是我給你的，不用還了。」沃爾特接著又說：「明天你到市中心的影業公司導 演辦公室來找我，我會給你一個很大的驚喜。」
第二天一大早，門衛就告訴沃爾特說外面來了一大群孩子；他詫異的出去一看，就見那個小男孩興奮的跑過來，一臉天真的說：「先生，這些孩子都是和我一樣沒有父母的流浪孩子，他們也渴望有驚喜！」 沃爾特真沒想到一個窮困流浪的孩子竟會有一顆如此善良的心！通過反復觀察和篩選，沃爾特發現在這些孩子中，確實有幾個比小男孩更機靈，更適合出演劇本中的小主人公。
但他最後還是只把小男孩留了下來，並且在錄用合約書的「原因」一欄中寫下了這樣幾個字：「善良無須考核，免試！」因為他覺得這小男孩很善良，在自己面臨困境的時候，還願意把本屬於自己一個人的 希望，無私的分享給別人，這是怎樣的一種善良啊！而電影中的那個孩子，描寫的正是這樣一個善良、博大、無私的人。
這個小男孩叫文尼斯基（Vinícius de Oliveira）。
在沃爾特的執導下，文尼斯基在1998年完成的巴西電影「中央車站」（Central do Brasil）中成功扮演了小男孩主人公的角色，也獲得柏林國際 電影節、金熊獎等諸多桂冠。
若干年後，已成為一家影視文化公司董事長的文尼斯基寫了一部自傳 ─「我的演藝生涯」，在書的扉頁上面，是沃爾特的親筆題字：「善良無須考核」；下面則是他給予文尼斯基的評價：「是善良，曾經讓他把機遇讓給別的孩子；同樣也是善良，讓人生的機遇不曾錯過他！ 」
