Closely Watched Trains (1966) Jirí Menzel

I love this film.  I simply do.  I find it to be truly sincere and honest.  It's real and unpretentious... it just is what it is... and that's what I love most about this film.  Jirí Menzel doesn't pretend to have all the answers, he doesn't try to persuade you of thinking the way he does, he doesn't show off or try to get you to admire him, he simply shows you life in one of its many representations and that's it, he's happy just by telling you this story, there's no secret agenda.



The main character, Milos, is simple wonderful.  He's so genuine.  It's almost as if he were being himself in front of the camera.  All that clumsiness in his sexual awakening is tenderly tragical.  At the same time it's impossible not to relate to those feelings of failure and doubt, we've all experienced them and we all know what it's like to feel like we're not properly designed for this life, it's terrifying... feeling you're alone in your own bizarreness.

The story unfolds itself naturally.  Menzel makes it seem as if making films filled with life were easy and simple... In every take, in every actor, in every conflict, life is there... the film is simply brilliant! I have nothing but good things to say about it.