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.
Closely Watched Trains
1966 [CZECH]
Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance / War
Plot summary
At a village railway station in occupied Czechoslovakia, a bumbling dispatcher’s apprentice longs to liberate himself from his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance that surrounds him, this young man embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, encountering a universe of frustration, eroticism, and adventure within his sleepy backwater depot.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
August 28, 2021 at 02:21 PM
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Unusual use of stamp pads!
sexual awakening amid terror
I interpreted Jiří Menzel's "Ostře sledované vlaky" ("Closely Watched Trains" in English) as a parallel to the burgeoning sexual revolution in the West. Václav Neckář's guard in the train station in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia has the hots for Jitka Bendová's conductor and they have an awkward experience at first. This was no doubt a risky thing to show in the Eastern Bloc, since the governments there tended to suppress all displays of sexuality in popular media (it wasn't until 1988 that a Soviet movie featured a sex scene).
This movie is well known as an important addition to the Czechoslovak New Wave of the 1960s. Like "The Shop on Main Street", it looks at how people tried to live their own lives amid the occupation. Both movies went on to win Best Foreign Language Film. They both deserved it. With their simply plots, they contrast sharply with epics like "The Great Escape" (which I understand played fast and loose with the story). I hope to see more products of the Czechoslovak New Wave. I understand that Milo Forman (later to become famous for "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus") was one of the leaders of this genre.
patriotism blended with sex!
This is a good, though far from great film. It concerns the exploits of a premature ejaculator who just started a job with the railroad in Czechoslovakia during WWII. Yes, I DID say "premature ejaculator". So, you can rightly assume this is NOT a movie for the kids to watch. The movie is a very strange amalgamation of two types of film--sort of like Porky's meets The Guns of Navarone! So, apart from watching our hero overcome his control problem, we also watch him and his colleagues as they sabotage Nazi trains as resistance fighters. What a bizarre combination. There is good acting (the actors reminded me of those in the movies by De Sica--just everyday folks as opposed to people who looked and acted like actors). This is the movie's strength. It's greatest weakness is that it spends too much time on nookie and not enough on a real plot. If you want a better Czech film about WWII, try The Shop on Main Street--a much more memorable and important film.