Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Memorable, crazy movie

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Without giving away the totally surprising ending, I will say that I really was turned off by this film until the ending wrapped up everything very clearly. The acting is excellent and the basic plot is unique and very interesting. Too bad in real life, those tragic human beings slaughtered by the Nazi regime didn't come up with this idea a thousand times over. A comedy about this horrific time of the world is sometimes difficult to deal with. The people involved are not painted in a positive light, yet like I said, the ending makes everything as clear as clear can be. The film can drag at times, but the acting saves it. Not sure if this film will appeal to an overall general audience, because it can be over the top and even distasteful. I would rate the ending one of the most surprising and shocking in the history of cinema. Train of Life is the dream to escape the nightmare of the brutally of man. Thought provoking to say the least. 9 out of 10.

There is a very fine line that you walk when you are trying to make a comedy about a subject as difficult as the holocaust. Roberto Benigni walked that line with "Life is Beautiful" and never stepped wrong. He knew how to have the trickiest balance between humor and the darkest horror man has ever known.One can imagine how Benigni could have gone wrong. But for an example there is "Train of Life", a shameful exercise in filmmaking whose premise is intriguing, whose script is embarrassing and whose ending is a kick in the face.Here is the intriguing premise: In 1941 the people of a small Jewish community become aware that Hitler is killing Jews in Europe. Fearing that they could be deported, they decide to fake their own deportation by stealing a train, making Nazi uniforms and heading for Pakistan, thereby deceiving the Nazi and saving their lives.The embarrassing script gives us a cast of cartoonish characters who spend 90% of the film squabbling. There is no tension in the scenes where the train in stopped by the Nazis because the Nazis in this film are so dimwitted that they would fall for anything! Now for the ending: The ending (which I won't give away) I suppose is supposed to be poignant or funny or touching but found it to be shameful. With so many denying that the holocaust ever happened, we don't need a film this trite. The movie takes this subject and grinds it down to a rather unfunny sitcom.

This movie is one of my favourite holocaust movies ever because it combines so many aspects of life: humour, despair, political turmoil, sexuality, prejudices...etc. It's funny, sad, hopeful and above all makes you feel honoured to be part of the journey along with the characters. From the very beginning I fell in love with the characters, this movie has a certain small town fiddler-on-the-roof quality to it that enables you to relate to everyone in the village in some way. Like Fiddler inside the village there are also "many special types" from it's town fool to the rabbi. I highly highly recommend this movie to anyone who has a heartbeat. it has a very dark sense of humour, much like "Life is Beautiful" but I believe it hasn't received the acknowledgment that it definitely deserves.

The film Train de vie is a story about how to cope in a time of horror. It is essential to never loose your humour and imagination even in time of war. To stay sane and alive you can turn to insanity. A great paradox but what in life isn´t. I think that we need new ways to look att the holocaust. The hole story is dependent of the end without the ending Train de vie would be rather distasteful i can admit to that. But the ending makes you stop and think and realize that everything you´ve just seen is a figment of the narrators imagination. Constructed by him for his own mental survival. I think that this is a warm and wonderful film, much because of that it is open for many interpretations. Plus the music is absolutely great!