Closely Watched Trains

Imagine coming of age in a time when you are surrounded by sexual images. This Academy Award winning film can be the Czechoslovakian version of so many of the Judd Apatow films we see today.

Brilliantly photographed in black and white, it shows Milos (Václav Neckár) trying to become a man. His first opportunity with his girlfriend Masa (Jitka Bendová) ends in disaster and he attempts suicide. His doctor advises him to get a more experienced woman to teach him, so he goes on a quest to find one.

This all takes place during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, so there are many political overtones to the film. It is hilarious as Milos works at a train station where his coworker Hubicka (Josef Somr) doesn't seem to have problems getting action whenever he wants.

He does manage to arrange help for Milos, but tragedy strikes before he is able to use his new found knowledge with his girlfriend.

An excellent picture and a real funny story that manages to avoid the crudity of modern tales of the same sort.

Hello In the discussion of sex and the young man's preoccupation with his personal life, his attempted suicide and the image of him being saved is often overlooked. The formation of his body as he is carried away from his death is in the shape of Michaelangelo's Pieta. In my mind, at least, this image ties his willingness to ultimately sacrifice his self-absorption for the greater good to that of the Christ.

Even his quest for sexual satisfaction is fulfilled by putting his own needs on hold to contribute to the Resistance. A collaborating agent ensures that his needs are fulfilled, perhaps knowing better than he the risk that he will be taking.

I suppose that image stuck with me having been raised Christian and also one who embraced art through the ages, but it touched me because it reminded me that we who live ordinary, simple, and seemingly unfulfilled lives may be called upon to do more...and in answering the call, do great and necessary things.

I saw this film at film-school. Ever since, I have rated this film as one of the very best, its beauty, seriousness, sensualism and cinematography. It is all black and white, but so full of life. I am myself a cinematographer today.

Try to watch it.

When I saw this film, about twenty years ago, I knew nothing about Bohumil Hrabal, the author of the novel, and Jiri Menzel, the director. Later I knew about the situation that many talented people went through in Czechoslovakia after "The Prague springtime" and the invasion of the country by the soviet tanks in 1968. Now I am a fan of the czech sense of humour but I still remember that evening twenty years ago when I saw what was probably my first czech film and the enormous pleasure that causes me this almost perfect movie.

Closely Watched Trains is my favorite movie ever. It is 90 minutes of cinematic perfection: funny, sad, exquisitely shot, beautiful to look at (watch it twice, so that the second time around you can focus on Menzel's genius in composing his shots), and insightful--profound, even. Its structure will make any film student drool with envy. The acting is flawless, particularly the performance by Josef Somr as train-dispatcher Hubicka. Please resist any impulse to see it as a "political" film--it is nothing of the sort. It's just a beautiful work of art. Note: Closely Watched Trains won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1967.