Train de vie - Un treno per vivere

This is a magnificent film. Like "Life Is Beautiful" it manages to be a comedy about the Holocaust but also a sensitive and thoughtful study of it. It's beautifully filmed, wonderfully acted, superbly directed. I can't think of a film I've seen this year that is more entertaining and more thought provoking. It's a comedy, it's a fantasy, it's a musical, it's a drama, it's a romance, it's an allegory and, yes, it's a tragedy. It's also wonderfully European with none of the predictable Hollywood cliches but with fascinating symbolism and revealing studies of human dynamics. But not the least artsey-dartsey. And how I'm tempted to give away the ending. But no! I wouldn't want anyone to miss that cinematic fist in the gut. Wow!!! The whole hour and a half is crystalized in a five second closeup. You won't be prepared for it! This is one of the few films I've ever given a ten!