A quiet, charming, very, human film. It comes from Czechoslovakia and isn't pushy like those big American movies; it will not force its point of view on you, or sweep you up in a tide of emotion.

Menzel has the distinction of never raising his voice (choosing a resolutely monotone, neutral tone) and of casting the same gaze, cold and amused, over everything. That dryness is both its value and its limit, which is quickly reached.

As a coming-of-age portrait it has an initial charm with its journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening, but it slowly loses its poetic steam to keep the political locomotive in overdrive. [Full review in Spanish]

“Closely Watched Trains” is a Czechoslovakian treat that makes you long for a rebirth of that same spirit that made its films so great in the first place.