Closely Watched Trains is a petite film that is incredibly and darkly amusing, chronicling the sexual coming of age of an apprentice stationmaster--or something like that. The fact is I watched the movie about two years ago.
What I remember are wild oscillations from bright humor to dark (unless, of course, I'm supposed to think the boy's suicide attempt resulting from failed coitus is serious) and one of the most erotic moments in cinematic history--the worldly stationmaster stamping the buttocks of his conquest. The scene is utterly strange but entirely sensual; it's also completely at odds with what the general population finds sexy. And yet it's among the sexiest things I've ever encountered--right up there with Barbara Stanwyck fondling Henry Fonda's head in The Lady Eve.
I also remember that this isn't just about sexual awakening. The subtext of political subversion clearly transforms the film from a European version of Porky's or American Pie. Could it all be an allegory? Could the boy be the new Czechoslovakia? Could he, as an individual who, once he achieves his goal, dies from his newfound maturity, represent this Eastern Bloc nation? Could the older workers at the station reflect the country's history? Probably, but I wouldn't count on it. And, frankly, it doesn't matter if they do. The film works well enough without allegory and the subplot of political subversion lends an element of seriousness to an otherwise humorous movie. In other words, it's not all comedy, and that's as it should be.
Closely Watched Trains is a great movie and one you should seek out. It's the type of foreign film that connoisseurs and laypeople alike will enjoy. It's like My Life as a Dog or All About My Mother--a crowd pleaser without being facile.
What I remember are wild oscillations from bright humor to dark (unless, of course, I'm supposed to think the boy's suicide attempt resulting from failed coitus is serious) and one of the most erotic moments in cinematic history--the worldly stationmaster stamping the buttocks of his conquest. The scene is utterly strange but entirely sensual; it's also completely at odds with what the general population finds sexy. And yet it's among the sexiest things I've ever encountered--right up there with Barbara Stanwyck fondling Henry Fonda's head in The Lady Eve.
I also remember that this isn't just about sexual awakening. The subtext of political subversion clearly transforms the film from a European version of Porky's or American Pie. Could it all be an allegory? Could the boy be the new Czechoslovakia? Could he, as an individual who, once he achieves his goal, dies from his newfound maturity, represent this Eastern Bloc nation? Could the older workers at the station reflect the country's history? Probably, but I wouldn't count on it. And, frankly, it doesn't matter if they do. The film works well enough without allegory and the subplot of political subversion lends an element of seriousness to an otherwise humorous movie. In other words, it's not all comedy, and that's as it should be.
Closely Watched Trains is a great movie and one you should seek out. It's the type of foreign film that connoisseurs and laypeople alike will enjoy. It's like My Life as a Dog or All About My Mother--a crowd pleaser without being facile.