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Train of Life
Metascore
62 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
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  1. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jim Sullivan
    88
    Another phantasmagorical tale of life among the Nazis, is upon us. This one works much better.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Amy Taubin
    80
    It's entertainment that never lets us off the hook.
  3. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Henry Cabot Beck
    80
    Every bit as reverent as "Schindler's List," and no less successful.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    A fairy tale comedy with the Holocaust as the background, a collision of terror and community, death and beauty.
  5. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    75
    More imaginative and responsible than the somewhat similar "Life Is Beautiful."
  6. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    70
    A tragicomic Holocaust fable that's by turns silly, triumphant and achingly sad.
  7. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    70
    Gaily seduces you into its fantasy life, then whacks you over the head with a finale that, intentionally or not, functions as a rebuke to the mad optimism of Benigni's pandering film
  8. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Jean Oppenheimer
    70
    Far superior to either "Life Is Beautiful" or "Jakob the Liar."
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    60
    What saves Train of Life from sinking into sudsy Holocaust kitsch is its sustained comic buoyancy.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    60
    Less-than-scintillating spin on "Life Is Beautiful."
  11. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    A merry, wistful, tear-and-a-smile romp about the Holocaust, of all things.
  12. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    Much of the film is frankly ludicrous, but that does little to dispel its overall power and passion.
  13. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    50
    Too much of the film is not inspired enough in its humor to overcome the queasy feeling that comes from watching a comedy-adventure involving Jews during the Holocaust.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    38
    A misguided exercise - a crude merger of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Schindler's List" that somehow reminds you of "Hogan's Heroes."
  15. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Cody Clark
    29
    Even if the antic futility of attempting to get an entire shtetl to pull together in the face of genocide is your idea of a day at the races, don't laugh too hard -- the out-of-nowhere ending will make you choke on every chuckle.
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