Movie Monday: Closely Watched Trains
Veering away from better known American and British war pictures, Closely Watched Trains is a Czechoslovak film set in WWII. Shot in 1966 and based on a novel originally written by one of the 20th Century’s greatest writers, Bohumil Hrabal, Closely Watched Trains tells of trials and tribulations of a young Czech boy who goes by the name Miloš Hrm as an unpaid employee of a small train station. While the film does not feature big action scenes or heroic air flights, this movie depicts a very true and moving coming of age story of a growing boy living under Nazi occupation. Winner of the 1967 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the film was well received as a representation of the country’s unique cultural identity and a major success of Eastern European Cinema making it a Cockpit USA Monday movie of choice!
