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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Train of Life
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 10 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Radu Mihaileanu
Directed by: Radu Mihaileanu
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 5, 1999
Running Time: 102 minutes, Color
Origin: France / Belgium / Netherlands
Language(s): French and German (with English subtitles)
Summary
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)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
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.
Read Full Review >Film.com Henry Cabot Beck
Every bit as reverent as "Schindler's List," and no less successful.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
A fairy tale comedy with the Holocaust as the background, a collision of terror and community, death and beauty.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
More imaginative and responsible than the somewhat similar "Life Is Beautiful."
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer
Far superior to either "Life Is Beautiful" or "Jakob the Liar."
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A tragicomic Holocaust fable that's by turns silly, triumphant and achingly sad.
Read Full Review >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
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
What saves Train of Life from sinking into sudsy Holocaust kitsch is its sustained comic buoyancy.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Less-than-scintillating spin on "Life Is Beautiful."
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Much of the film is frankly ludicrous, but that does little to dispel its overall power and passion.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
A merry, wistful, tear-and-a-smile romp about the Holocaust, of all things.
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >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."
Read Full Review >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.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
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.
