Rating: 
Summary: Pleasantly surprising
Review: A comically tragic highlight of life during German Occupation of the czech republic. I was surprised to find the movie as funny as it was - especially due to appreciable characters like Mr. Hubicka. It is an interesting look at ... in foreign film during the 60's - which for me is fascinating - since I wasn't around then. I especially recommend the film for those learning the czech language. As always, there is a richness in the script that doesn't come across in the English subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprising
Review: A comically tragic highlight of life during German Occupation of the czech republic. I was surprised to find the movie as funny as it was - especially due to appreciable characters like Mr. Hubicka. It is an interesting look at ... in foreign film during the 60's - which for me is fascinating - since I wasn't around then. I especially recommend the film for those learning the czech language. As always, there is a richness in the script that doesn't come across in the English subtitles.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: A morose and depressed young man (Vaclav Neckar) takes a job in a Czech railway station during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. The boy (and everyone else for that matter) is preoccupied with sex as the world falls apart around them. Ultimately, this film left me unsatisfied. Neckar’s performance, though it may be appropriate for the character, is deadly dull. I found no precedent for the decision by him and his lecherous older co-worker (Vladimir Valenta) to join the underground movement and the climax arrives rather abruptly and anticlimactically. Having little emotional investment in the characters, I was left unaffected.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic film !!!
Review: I got an opportunity to see this film when I was in UK during 2001-'02. I have borrowed VHS cassette of this film from local library. Before that I have no idea about Czech new wave cinema or Jiri Menzel. After seeing this film, I could not able to resist myself to see this film again and again. The film script was well-written, fantastic performance by all actors especially the actor who acted as Milos. The photography is Black-White magic (nice DVD transfer - still you can see can the freshness of movie print). The music is also fantastic, especially the music which comes during the scene where Milos had taken by the SS Army people. Three months before I have been to USA and first thing I did was order this DVD in Amazon.com. I have seen this DVD 7-10 times after I bought this.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: I remember seeing this film as a teenager when it first came out and have loved it ever since. I've also seen it about forty times and, like the wonderful book you read over and over, this film continues to be a revelation. It is darkly comic, wonderfully well drawn and has, to my mind probaby the single sexiest scene ever put on film (the famous "rubber stamp" sequence).The real tragedy of this film however, is the director Jiri Menzel, whose many films have never seen the light of day in this country. A victim of the Soviet crackdown on Czechoslovakia in 1968, Menzel's follow-up film, the absurd and outrageously funny "Larks On A String" was banned until only a few years ago when it was briefly shown in the U.S. and had an even briefer run on VHS (hint-hint: a DVD please??). Clearly, Menzel was/is a genius whose gift was stopped in its tracks by the ugly spectre of politics. Menzel, like his fellow film makers Milos Forman, and Ivan Passar has a unique and important voice. "Closely Watched Trains" is a masterpiece in its richness of character and observation on the human condition. There is not a single false moment, nor badly cast character in the entire film. It is a rewarding experience and one to savor over and over again. I don't know how many films can make that claim, but this is one film I will see for a very long time to come. I'm so glad the DVD has finally come out - I've worn out three VHS copies over the years.
Rating: 
Summary: Wanna see this one again
Review: I watched Jiri Menzel's CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS today, and right now the best praise I can give it is that I'd definitely be willing to sit through this one again. I didn't fully catch all the subtle political satire that some reviewers claim are in this film, and thus I'd be willing to watch it again to see if I can catch these added nuances to what is already a very good film. So what caught my eye this first time? I think simply the quiet texture of the film is what I liked about it most---it captures the rhythms of this sleepy little town in an authentic manner. I was amused by the character of Milos Hrma: as WWII rages on around him, he focuses on not doing too much (as a wannabe train dispatcher, he doesn't have to do all that much) as well as losing his virginity. In other people, that would be called ignorance; in Milos' case, it's pure innocence. And I suppose it must have been a rather daring feat at the time (1966) for Menzel to juxtapose wry human comedy with the undertone of WWII. In short, I liked its insights into human nature, I liked its slow pace---nothing truly significant happens for most of the picture, and yet we're intrigued anyway---I enjoyed its subtle eroticism, and I was rather fascinated by the main character, even if he himself wasn't necessarily the most fascinating character around. Maybe I'm just stupid, but I wasn't sure why such a big deal was made by the disciplinary commission over the stamping incident involving Zdenka and train dispatcher Hubicka. I'm sure perhaps Menzel was making some kind of sly, subtle political statement was being made there, but I'm not quite sure what exactly. That is why, if I ever get the chance to see this film again, I would not mind it to perhaps catch the nuances I missed this first time. Still, for my first viewing, I was, on the whole, charmed by the movie and genuinely shocked by its deliberately dark ending. On that basis, I recommend CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS---and i'm sure if I finally understand everything about the movie upon a second viewing, I might add a star to my current four-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: FORGET SEX -- JOIN THE RESISTANCE
Review: Set in Czechoslovakia in the 40s during the German occupation, Jiri Menzel's "CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS" is a wry satire that helped establish the Czech New Wave. Milos (Vaclav Neckar) is a virginal, naive, teenage apprentice railway depot platform guard in a village outside Prague. He is preoccupied with wishing for sex. He considers, and is even attracted to, joining the Resistance but that would require serious effort. So he spends his time doing as little as possible and flirting with the female conductor of a passing train. This dark comedy is also a wonderful coming of age story in which the loss of innocence naturally parallels the greater losses in the increasingly mad world Milos inhabits. Small town misadventures and petty rivalries are suddenly forced into a new perspective with the indomitable presence of the Germans and the surprising but inevitable hand of destiny. This is a comedy about Everyman enjoying his little realm of freedom and the System that eventually devoured it. In some ways, this film has renewed meaning in our rapidly shrinking world where we question old beliefs and increasingly welcome the surrender of cherished Freedoms for the illusion of greater Security. Difficult issues that great films can clarify -- and obfuscate.
Rating:
Summary: FORGET SEX -- JOIN THE RESISTANCE
Review: Set in Czechoslovakia in the 40s during the German occupation, Jiri Menzel's "CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS" is a wry satire that helped establish the Czech New Wave. Milos (Vaclav Neckar) is a virginal, naive, teenage apprentice railway depot platform guard in a village outside Prague. He is preoccupied with wishing for sex. He considers, and is even attracted to, joining the Resistance but that would require serious effort. So he spends his time doing as little as possible and flirting with the female conductor of a passing train. This dark comedy is also a wonderful coming of age story in which the loss of innocence naturally parallels the greater losses in the increasingly mad world Milos inhabits. Small town misadventures and petty rivalries are suddenly forced into a new perspective with the indomitable presence of the Germans and the surprising but inevitable hand of destiny. This is a comedy about Everyman enjoying his little realm of freedom and the System that eventually devoured it. In some ways, this film has renewed meaning in our rapidly shrinking world where we question old beliefs and increasingly welcome the surrender of cherished Freedoms for the illusion of greater Security. Difficult issues that great films can clarify -- and obfuscate.
Rating:
Summary: FORGET SEX -- JOIN THE RESISTANCE
Review: Set in Czechoslovakia in the 40s during the German occupation, Jiri Menzel's "CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS" is a wry satire that helped establish the Czech New Wave. Milos (Vaclav Neckar) is a virginal, naive, teenage apprentice railway depot platform guard in a village outside Prague. He is preoccupied with wishing for sex. He considers, and is even attracted to, joining the Resistance but that would require serious effort. So he spends his time doing as little as possible and flirting with the female conductor of a passing train. This dark comedy is also a wonderful coming of age story in which the loss of innocence naturally parallels the greater losses in the increasingly mad world Milos inhabits. Small town misadventures and petty rivalries are suddenly forced into a new perspective with the indomitable presence of the Germans and the surprising but inevitable hand of destiny. This is a comedy about Everyman enjoying his little realm of freedom and the System that eventually devoured it. In some ways, this film has renewed meaning in our rapidly shrinking world where we question old beliefs and increasingly welcome the surrender of cherished Freedoms for the illusion of greater Security. Difficult issues that great films can clarify -- and obfuscate.
Rating:
Summary: Original Coming-of-age tale
Review: Sometimes I don't know what to say about a film because a plot summary would give too much away. This coming-of-age story seems fairly standard at first but has enough novel twists to be original. Good performances and cinematography are icing on the cake. My only compliant is the usual subtitle one: reading and watching a scene is not fun. The movie isn't rated but is probably PG-13 for adult situations and sexual themes but almost no nudity.
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