Directed by Jiří Menzel • 1966 • Czechoslovakia
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The film that announced the Czech New Wave to the world, Jiří Menzel’s beloved debut is a humanist comedy of errors and a minor-key ode to rebellion. Adapted from Bohumil Hrabal’s novel of the same name, Closely Observed Trains unfolds in a provincial railway station in the last days of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Teenage dispatcher Miloš (Václav Neckář) is less concerned with the ongoing war than with losing his virginity; meanwhile, the tension between ribald railwayman Hubička (Josef Somr) and pompous collaborationist official Zedníček (Vlastimil Brodský) hints at the darker reality of the situation outside the placid confines of the station. Menzel’s concern for the passions and frustrations of common folk and his understated satirical wit combine to great effect – and would eventually win the film an Academy Award.

CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS • OSTŘE SLEDOVANÉ VLAKY
Directed by Jiří Menzel
Written by Jiří Menzel and Bohumil Hrabal
From the novel by Bohumil Hrabal
Cinematography by Jaromír Šofr
Music by Jiří Šust
Starring: Václav Neckář, Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský

In Czech and German with English subtitles

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 1968