Historias del metro

The New York Subway is not just a transit network: it's also a place where all sides of that city's racial divide come together, albeit not necessarily in harmony. Even I have a collection of several Subway stories, and I was only in New York for 4 days. So the idea of making a film based on the true experiences of Subway users might not appear bad. But a collection of separate short films (each by a different director) always runs the risk of going nowhere, of offering underdeveloped plots and scenes that are meaningless without context: most of these stories end undramatically when someone simply gets off the train, and feel no more exciting or complete than the tales that I sometimes bore my friends with. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, my favourite segment is 'The 5:24', which develops a proper narrative despite fitting the overall pattern of chance encounters on brief journeys. Overall, however, 'SUBWAY stories' mainly reflects its subject matter: diverse, functional, but not exactly a place you'd choose to be without a very good reason.

HBO started this out as a contest for people to submit stories of their real-life experiences on the New York City subway and then chose ten stories to put to this film. Some excellent actors and directors were chosen to perform in this film, which is a series of vignettes. As a result of all these talented people being involved, the film is very easy to take and sometimes entertaining. There are some moments of wit as well as a few moments of drama which are memorable. Also, "Subway Stories" creates a believable experience even in the midst of stories that sound improbable at times. None of the stories are all that bad. The trouble is that no part if this film is all that exciting or compelling. Maybe the problem is that there are so many stories that the viewer doesn't have the time to become involved in the characters and their problems. Also, many of the characters show little common sense and as a result, their dilemmas are exasperating. I suppose this is worth watching if one is intrigued by the idea. It's certainly painless to sit through. It's just that given the fascinating premise and the impressive array of talent gathered, it should have been much better.

I love short story films, especially when, of one particular theme, they are connected to satisfy a feature length running time.

Like taking any subway/underground/metro train, with Subway Stories, if you don't like one particular story, wait a few minutes and a better one will come along.

Of course everyone will have their particular favourites, but for me

Fern's Heart of Darkness, Sax Cantor Riff, Manhattan Miracle, Love on the A Train, and Underground were simply original and wonderful.

I'm English and lived in London for four years so these types of stories are not exclusive to New York.

Where there are people, there are possibilities.

Funny, poignant, attractively economical. Maybe the stories (and the subway scenes) are a touch sanitized but the whole thing works wondrously. It sometimes reminds you of "Smoke" - very high praise. Loved the NYC tourist's game of recognizing the stations and character types.

I really loved these weird stories about the New York City subway, especially the one with the boy and the older woman, and the one with Dennis Leary. That's what I want to say about it. It's underground, it's a different world...go and rent it