Les enfants du chemin de fer

It was a good idea to update the railway children story of the Second World War but an absolutely dumb idea to put modern ideas of racism - presumably to please the woke crowd - into it. Come on this is a children's film. We know that racism existed in the American army but the enemy was not the Americans but the Nazis. Even the murderous Joe Stalin was on our side! The idiots who rewrite history like this give our children the wrong idea, that somehow the brave lads who went to war against one of the most murderous regimes ever were the bad guys. These things are just totally annoying and totally out of place in children's films. Another example of woke virtue signalling. The movie could've been made a lot more entertaining with a lot better and more imaginative screenplay. Hopeless!

Every time I come across films of children being packed off to the countryside during WWII, 2 films invariably come to mind - Narnia, and Hope and Glory. Unfortunately, this neither has the fantastical element of Narnia, nor the magical perspective and childlike thrill of H&G.

For an adult director to recreate the world through the eyes of a child, requires huge amounts of perception and skill, both in direction as well as acting. This falters on both as neither is convincing enough to sustain the interest of the viewer throughout the duration of the film.

There are films where racial injustices are not only integral, but indispensable. But to force racial themes into every film film that could so easily be done without, is not only trivializing the issue but rather making a mockery of it as the audience would easily spot the digression and this is exactly what happens here.

Lastly as an aside, this period piece deals with racial justice in an era were there was little to none, compelling an unlikely amalgamation.

Where to start :

Good points : none

Pointless sequel, yet another example of the talentless chimps beating on keyboards to produce an awful script for a shameless money making grab on the back of a classic

I hope they paid Jenny Agutter a lot of money for her short appearances.

Absolute rubbish, full of 'woke' B. S.

If you have fond memories of the classic original don't waste your money.

Who is the audience supposed to be? I thought this would be a family movie, and expected a weak version of the original, but the writers have ruined a wonderful original tale and filled the film with unpleasant characters, racism, bigotry and bad mannered children.

Yes, the issues of racism do need to be told and historically remembered, but this is not the film for it. The Railways Children was a lovely, charming and heartfelt story of a family in crisis and how loving children helped their mother and each other. This is not the platform for a socially conscience lesson.

Write a new movie if you want that; don't leach off a gentle story.

As you might expect from an attempt to re run a beloved classic there is a certain air of somewhat cynical box checking about The Railway Children Return but some charm does manage to sneak through.

This time round children are sent to the country to escape the blitz rather than just having to slum it with the yokels because daddy has legal problems. This set up allows Jenny Agutter to return as the grown up matriarch of a family taking in the new generation of railway kids. She seems to be enjoying herself but doesn't really have much to do. This is the same for most of the adult characters in the film, thinly drawn but likeable (apart from one insufferable old uncle who turns up purely to spout ra ra nonsense).

This makes sense as it is the railway "children" after all. Some of the child acting is, to be kind, a mixed bag but it never derails proceedings and there is only so much a young actor can do with insightful lines like, "I hate war, I hate it!"

The plot, such as it is, involves a runaway soldier and institutional racism. Fortunately, only the American military are racist (although they still promote black soldiers far up the ranks so i guess we are meant to think they aren't all bad) as the citizens of a quant English village would never indulge in such behaviour. To call the events of the movie a plot is actually a bit of stretch, things happen for a while and then just sort of resovle themselves without much explanation of how everynody came together.

The Railway Children Return isnt a complete waste of time but is likely to be quickly forgotten. Probably as soon as the credits roll.