World War 2 was one of the most, if not the most, traumatic events in human history. For this reason, cinema has and continues to consistently return to the scene of the Great tragedy, that was World War 2. These movies are either battle centered war films, interpretations of the Holocaust or film renditions of the Post War after-effects on society. Rarely is there a film that attempts to show us how these events effected the average and unexceptional person who lived through them, from a distance. Jiri Menzel’s, “Closely Watched Trains”, is one those rare movies, that attempts to do just that.
Milos Hrma (Vaclav Neckar in an unforgettable performance) is a young man who as the film begins, commences a new career as a train dispatcher. In an opening narration he explains how he is proud of his family of misfits, and admires the family goal of landing a job that allows a person to do almost nothing, while other people have to do hard physical work in order to make a living. The movie takes place during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in a small distant town, at a train station where most of the trains never stop. The trains that do stop belong to the Nazi military, delivering soldiers and ammunition to the front. For a vast majority of the films running time, the war is not only never mentioned but not even part of the narrative. That is what makes the movie so special. The emphasis is on Milo’s drive to lose his virginity, making the film a sort of coming of age story. Most stories where young men in their last teen years are trying to lose their virginity emphasize the problem of finding a willing partner. Here Milos has no problem finding a girl more than willing to be with him. There is the pretty conductress, a young telegraphist who works at the station, and eventually a sexy agent of the Czech underground. All are more than willing to educate Milos on the fine art of love making. The real problem is performance, as the movie is refreshingly honest in its subject matter. Milos suffers from over-excitement during his attempts at bedding the conductress, which results in a problem of pre-mature ejaculation. This is a problem that many young men suffer early in life, but there are very few coming of age movies that are brave enough to acknowledge this. Menzel’s movie shows very clearly how the preceding years of communism took away any religious morality as it pertains to sex. Working alongside Milos is the experienced dispatcher Hubicka (Josef Somr), who is one of uninhibited bachelors who is more than willing to sleep with a different girl every day, and Hubicka takes it upon himself to help Milos lose his virginity.
This is a very small and quaint movie that does not feature any distinct set piece scenes. Instead it relies on the interactions between the characters for moving the plot, and setting a tone. This places added reliance on the actor’s ability to relay each character’s personalities to the screen. The entire cast are exceptional allowing me to be immersed in their story. Vaclav Neckar was a local pop star singer when he made the movie, with no other previous acting experience to his credit. His performance here is a revelation. His character Milos is not very smart, very naïve and innocent. All of these traits are relayed expertly through his facial expressions and a sense of fear and wonder that seeps through his wide striking eyes in every scene. I found myself rooting for this poor boy and his bittersweet experiences are the sweet pleasures inherent throughout the movie.
While the vast majority of the movie separates itself from the War, this is still a movie about the effects of World War 2 on the beguiled innocent. When the war does arrive into the lives of these simple people, they are forced to make a choice. These are not uncomplicated choices and the movie successfully showed me how war makes us all either passive or aggressive victims. The ending is as unexpected as it is tragic, especially when considering the light hearted and humorous elements of most of the story.
“Closely Watched Trains”, is the type of movie that makes its bread and butter on the simple people it portrays. It is a movie about the little man and life during traumatic times. A slice of life from Eastern Europe well worth the price of admission.
1001 Movies before you die 