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Train of Life

1998 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy / Drama / War

7
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 64% · 22 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 93% · 2.5K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.6/10 10 9803 9.8K

nazi concentration camp holocaust (shoah) village deportation jewish life

Plot summary

In 1941, the inhabitants of a small Jewish village in Central Europe organize a fake deportation train so that they can escape the Nazis and flee to Palestine.

Director

Radu Mihaileanu Photo
Radu Mihaileanu

Top cast

Johan Leysen Photo
Johan Leysen as Schmecht
Ovidiu Cuncea Photo
Ovidiu Cuncea as Moitl
Theodor Danetti Photo
Theodor Danetti as Sage 2
Cornel Ciupercescu Photo
Cornel Ciupercescu as Le Facteur
720p.BLU 1080p.BLU
908.17 MB
1280*576
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles vi  us  
25 fps
1 hr 38 min
Seeds 2
1.82 GB
1920*864
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles vi  us  
25 fps
1 hr 38 min
Seeds 8

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ma-cortes 7 / 10

Marvelous fable plenty of lively comedy , good feeling and Jewish customs

The village's dumb named Scholomo(Abelanski) comes running and shouting that the Jews from near little towns are being deported towards unknown locations. That same night the Jewish council of wise men (presided by Clement Harari) is reunited to find a manner to save the villagers. They determine that people will be shielded from the horrors around them and somehow finds a way to do it. Then Scholome proposes an original idea, organize a false deportation train so which they can flee the Nazis passing the Russian frontier and escape to Palestine. Some Jewish are dressed in German uniforms(Rufus) and others posing as fake prisoners. Their efforts sometimes are pure fantasy , though with ruse they pull off the feat to keep the faith on their dreams.This is a story about love, war and sacrifice , well starred and directed. Extraordinary movie with comedy upon an irrepressible group who refuses to ever give in to adversity and some moment is spoken in Yiddish and German language with subtitles. A beguiling and unique fable that celebrates the human spirit and the freedom. This amusing picture contains some of ¨Fiddler on the roof¨(Norman Jewison,1971), including violin performance , ¨Life is beautiful¨ (Roberto Benigni ,1997) and ¨The last train¨(Joseph Vilsmaier, 2006). Excellent performances by all cast, as Harari as veteran rabbi trying to preserve Jewish heritage against growing odds, Rufus as Jew posing as Nazi officer, Michel Muller as Jewish infected with the fast-spreading germ of communism, and Agatha La Fontaine as gorgeous youngster, among them. Emotive and hearty score melodically performed by Goran Bregovic, Emir Kusturica's usual. Director Radu Mihaileanu tirelessly maintains the humorous ingenuity and shapes simultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy. Rating : Better than average. Well worth watching.
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Reviewed by noralee 7 / 10

A Magic Realism Touch to Recall Life Before the Holocaust

Despite a really annoying audience of noisy senior citizens I got into the spirit of "Train of Life (Train de vie)" (though it was odd having the shtetl residents in a foreign-language film speak French until I realized of course in "Jakob the Liar" Robin Williams and Liev Schreiber speak English so why not in a Belgian/Romanian-produced movie wouldn't they speak French?).

It has the immediate feel of the magic realism of "The Milagro Beanfields War" and it no more cheapens the Holocaust than "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" cheapens the Civil War. It is full of the warmth and love of everyday life and personalities come sweetly to life.

I thought the Fool as the Seer was getting a bit much until it's made clear he's not really the Village Idiot so no heavy-handed symbolism.(originally written 11/14/1999)

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