O Trem Italiano da Felicidade

The Italians are brilliant at creating gems like this. Beautiful stories, top-class performers and wonderful musical scores.

Over the years we have seen films that dealt with the evacuation of English children from London and other cities to the countryside due to the aerial bombings during WW2. However, I was certainly not aware of this particular piece of history that, after WW2, saw 70,000 children from the South of Italy sent up North for a different reason, to avoid poverty and the terrible conditions they were living in. This film, set in those sad times, provides us with an insight of what it must have been like for the families.

Inevitably, tissues will be required at times and the gentle, haunting score by legendary Italian composer Nicola Piovani (who won an Oscar for "La Vita è Bella") enhances the entire production.

Strangely, the music credit (at the time of writing) is not shown on IMDB, or at least not in its usual position on the list.

Having watched this production you will likely be inspired, like me, to do some further research into this period of Italian history.

This touching film is a beautifully crafted tale that explores the profound themes of love and the human capacity to give and receive it. The story is recounted through the perspective of a little boy, now grown, as he reflects on pivotal moments in his life. Its poignant narrative is accompanied by a soundtrack that perfectly complements the film's emotional tone, drawing the audience further into its tender moments.

For those who appreciate intimate, character-driven stories with significant emotional depth, this movie is a must-see. Its simplicity belies the complexity of its themes, offering a quiet yet profound meditation on love, memory, and connection.

Loved it.

I liked the film, it has a good character development, an interesting plot and a good set design.

I want to highlight some things that I liked about the film: The actors, the scenes, the character development, the story and how it progresses seem to me to be the strong points of this film. It does not contain any notable flaws and it does have its emotional and heartbreaking moments.

It is the first film by Christian Cervone (Amerigo) and he has done a good job interpreting his protagonist, he has a future in the world of acting, I have no doubt about that.

It is without a doubt one of the best Italian films I have seen and I fully recommend it.

This is a beautiful little Italian gem. The over all production to include photography, sets, costumes and musical score are superb and in my opinion worth several awards.

The script is very simple although not too original as it reminds of some old fashioned Italian style seen several times before over the history of Italian film making. It probably reminds of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso or La Vita e' Bella but it also reminds of old Sophia Loren's films given the importance of the female characters.

However the story is still beautifully told and it is sweet and touching in its simplicity.

The acting is superb from all members of the cast , including the children.

It is an unexpected high quality film from Netflix which in my opinion would deserve recognition from the public and the critics. An old fashioned enjoyable and very touching beautiful film. I had a little tear at the end.

Italian director Cristina Comencini delivers a beautiful film about a mother's love and the innocence of being a child in an emotional and natural tone of a story that marked hundreds of lives in the midst of World War II .

Netflix allows us to enjoy this beautiful film based on the novel by Viola Ardone and that transports us to the beautiful story of Amerigo who in his innocence and in his love takes us through a story full of beautiful moments that unfortunately become too short. The delicate direction of Cristina Comencini captivates us with that delicacy of providing beautiful shots and a raw portrait, but always seen from the innocence of children, which allows us to have a film always with a hopeful tone. We are in the middle of a war, but both its script and its direction in a calculated way make you feel that it is present, but they never leave aside the true center of paying homage to all those children who had to leave their mothers to find love with another new family.

The film is intelligent because among its wonderful photography and its music it hides captivating performances by Serena Rossi and Barbara Ronchi, two lonely mothers filled with love for Amerigo, played in an exciting way by Christian Cervone, who with his charisma and tenderness carries on his shoulders a story full of emotions in all aspects.

On this occasion we are faced with a work that reminds us how sometimes linearity and simplicity work to captivate that necessary fiber in the spectator. It is a classic proposal, but with determination, it is a journey along two paths, the first the innocence of childhood and the second motherhood in two looks that show us that loving is also letting go and wanting is also knowing how to understand.

A beautiful film with all the blood and Italian love that once again brings us a great director, behind the camera and an emotional tribute to all those who grew up and adapted to this train of hope.