Closely Watched Trains - Criterion Collection
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Director Jiri Menzel made this film during the middle 60's--when the Czech artists found themselves immersed in the joy of Prague Spring. This golden period (1965-68) has been called the Czech New Wave. One critic wrote,"Czech...
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Director Jiri Menzel made this film during the middle 60's--when the Czech artists found themselves immersed in the joy of Prague Spring. This golden period (1965-68) has been called the Czech New Wave. One critic wrote,"Czech comedies--with their focus on the ordinary life of indivduals--used an indirect approach to criticize the state of society." Czech humor is like the sadness of clowns--their smiles are painted on--and they found solid ways of delivering levity surreptitiously--poking fun at the bayonets and rifle butts aimed at their hearts. This film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film (1966). Menzel was 27 when he made the film. He said," We are quick to spot a paradox. We can always see Mr. Brezhnev in his underwear." Menzel was not allowed to direct films from 1969-1974. He collaborated with maverick poet, writer, and rabble rouser, Bohumil Hrabel--who wrote the novel this film is based on. The movie was shot in crisp B&W--giving it the look of a newsreel or documentary. Vaclav Neckar was wonderfully naive, gullible, and horny as the protagonist, Milos Hrma. He played a young man who was excited about doing nothing--who got to wear a uniform and got paid for it too. He was wide-eyed, shy, nervous, and randy. The scene where Milos tries to kiss his girl, Masa, just as the train is pulling out--and their lips never meet--became the poster for the film--signifying things yearned for but hard to achieve. I felt that the film never really seemed to be a service comedy--it was a thinly veiled sex comedy. Menzel's choice of keeping WWII at a distance--to concentrate on the human foilables never quite reached M.A.S.H. status. But it did point out that having sex while in a war zone must be a form of erotica second to none. This film may be flawed and less than perfect--but put in its proper perspective we find it to be a fragrant flower blossoming midst the turgid turds of totalitarianism. Comment | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)
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