Closely Watched Trains - Criterion Collection Rating: Release Date: 18 September, 2001 Retail Price: $29.95 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $2.96! Cast: Václav Neckár Josef Somr

Closely Watched Trains - Criterion Collection Reviews

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A Funny Train from Somewhere Sad
A funny look at a dramatic world through the eyes of railway workers in a small town in wartime Czechoslovakia. I enjoyed watching this movie, it really is a hopeful and humorous story about human beings in times of turmoil. This is Czechoslovakia during World War II. The Nazis are officially in control, and actively imposing their bureaucracy on the nation. Our protagonist is young Milos Hrma, whose father is a retired railway man, and spends the day sitting at home, looking at his watch, and telling everyone where each train in now. He encourages his son to find employment at the local village railway depot.

Easily the youngest employee at the depot, Milos wants to fit in, be admired, be a man. He wears the uniform of a train dispatcher, but doesn't seem comfortable in it yet. While other reviewers have mentioned young Milos' talk of wanting to have sex, which is actually quite funny in its stark honesty, much can be lost in our descriptions. This is a comedy, not a prurient display. It seems that sex is simply the path Milos believes he must take to be a man. It is his naivety and honesty with his fellow railway employees that makes the whole deal such a riot. This self-created drama keeps his mind off of what is happening around him. Some may be offended by this, in which case I'd suggest you'd probably be happier buying a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. Milos does show himself a man...and it has little to do with s-e-x. Very worth watching!

Some of the scenes are terrific--I liked the scene where Milos goes up to kiss the female conductor as the train is about to pull away and then...oh, I won't ruin it for you! It really is a funny film set in a heartbreaking time. All the more interesting that it was shot in 1966. Reccommended for comedy buffs and railway workers everywhere. I wish that sort of exitement happened on my train! :)

Superb
Based on an outstanding short novel by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains is probably the finest film of the Czech New Wave. The New Wave resulted from a period of experimentation that resulted from the liberalization of the Communist Party that produced the Prague Spring and was terminated by the Soviet invasion. The wit and humor with which Closely Watched Trains approaches Czech life during WWII was undoubtedly a major departure from the conventional party ideology. As commented by other reviewers, Closely Watched Trains is a witty sex comedy and ironic coming of age story. It is also a deeply ironic allegorical account of Czech history during WWII. Superbly filmed and acted.

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