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Train of Life
Paramount Pictures


9.7

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for some sexuality and nudity

Starring Lionel Abelanski, Rufus, Clement Harari, and Marie-Jose Nat

This haunting and powerful comedy is both the story of a village's dream and a suspenseful tale of great escape. (Paramount Classics)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Radu Mihaileanu
DIRECTED BY:	Radu Mihaileanu
RELEASE DATE:	Video: May 23, 2000 Theatrical: November 5, 1999
RUNNING TIME:	102 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	France / Belgium / Netherlands
LANGUAGE(S):	French and German (with English subtitles)

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Boston Globe Jim Sullivan

Another phantasmagorical tale of life among the Nazis, is upon us. This one works much better.

Film.com Henry Cabot Beck

Every bit as reverent as "Schindler's List," and no less successful.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

It's entertainment that never lets us off the hook.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

A fairy tale comedy with the Holocaust as the background, a collision of terror and community, death and beauty.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

More imaginative and responsible than the somewhat similar "Life Is Beautiful."

Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer

Far superior to either "Life Is Beautiful" or "Jakob the Liar."

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

A tragicomic Holocaust fable that's by turns silly, triumphant and achingly sad.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

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

The New York Times Stephen Holden

What saves Train of Life from sinking into sudsy Holocaust kitsch is its sustained comic buoyancy.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Less-than-scintillating spin on "Life Is Beautiful."

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

Much of the film is frankly ludicrous, but that does little to dispel its overall power and passion.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A merry, wistful, tear-and-a-smile romp about the Holocaust, of all things.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

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.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

A misguided exercise - a crude merger of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Schindler's List" that somehow reminds you of "Hogan's Heroes."

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.7 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Daniel gave it a10:
Powerful experience!!!

T T gave it a10:
Any gentiles squeamish about the idea of a Holocaust comedy can take it from a real, live Jew- Train of Life does no disrespect with it's humor. Indeed, it honors victims of the Holocaust and *any* attempt at "ethnic cleansing" with it's fantastic, friendly and very Jewish light on humanity and her sorrows.

Star B. gave it a 10:
It's the 1st "Nazi/Concentration Camp" movie that I actually finished watching. It also helped me see through the "read along" of foreign films. I now go to see that kind of film much more often. There were 4 of us in tears at the end of this wonderful movie and found ourselves talking about it 2 years later.

Daniel T. gave it a 10:
The truth is no less tragical throughout the entire story, and comedy's whole value comes from the immediate experimentation of life in a shtetl.

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Train of Life Paramount Pictures

Train of Life
Paramount Pictures