Dir: Maciej J. Drygas. Poland. 2024. 80′
Trains makes its way gracefully out of the sidings to reveal a timeless meditation on twentieth century travel.
The industrial revolutions and the advent of railways opened the way for masses – not just the few – to discover towns, countries and coasts (and even cinema) beyond their ken and built memories from dreams of escape and even nightmares from the horrors of the World Wars that ensued.
Polish archival documentary specialist Maciej J. Drygas shows how all this happened from the slavish workforce involved in the building, driving and even dismantling of this method of travel which many still regard as a romantic way of going long distances; sadly not for the daily commuter or the hapless soldier or child refugee.
For his black and white portrait of peripatetic people in the 20th century the Polish documentarian has plundered the archives for all kinds of footage to mesmerise the audience with the repetitive rhythms of his visual essay, all the better for its evocative score from Polish composer Pawel Szymanski’ but lack of audible dialogue after the initial enigmatic quote from Franz Kafka: “There is plenty of hope, an infinite amount of hope – but not for us”. @MeredithTaylor
KARLOVY VARY FILM FESTIVAL 2025 | BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE IDFA 2024