It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I had heard this film to be "better" than "Life Is Beautiful": I write the word better in scare quotes, because whether a film is better or worse is something subjective according to me, so it was very surprising to me the film marketed as a better humorous take on the Holocaust. I am afraid, in my opinion, not only it is a worse film, but it is also a film that reminded me of those mindless Hollywood musicals like "Carousel", etc. If you like that genre, you will like this film; if you fall for some exaggerated humour at Jew avarice, then you may fall for this one; if you like shapeless characters playing roles of bumpkins and dolts, then you may; otherwise, there is nothing here, least of all to even take its name in the same breath as the great Benigni film "Life Is Beautiful".I would have forgiven the almost-universal bad acting and the long drawn-out scenes of this film had the film made me laugh, being supposed to be a comedy: however, the film failed to manage even a single laugh (!) during its whole course. And the same was the case with the audience packing the hall: around hundred people not even managing one single guffaw between them in this grindingly boring film. Avoid at all costs.

This is one of the best humor movies I've ever seen. It's really hard to mix a war plot with nice fine humor. Some try it but the result is very bad. This movie is an exception, it's great and funny.I think the soul of this movies is it near naive humor. There is no that boring kind of "intelligent and cool humor for intelligent and cool people". It's plain humor works fine.But don't think this movie is just humor because it has a humanitarian story bellow the humorous cover that touches the heart. It's about human beings doing their best to escape from death.The soundtrack of this movie is great. I love the music, it's fabulous.It's a great movie worth of seeing.

Unartistic/mainstream, unfunny, pointless. This film has more in common with standard modern Hollywood than French filmmaking; over-structured and over-timed, and lack of atmosphere, emotions and charm. The cinematography is mediocre; ok but nothing to be impressed about. It has some interesting twists, like Jews becoming Nazis and communists, and, perhaps, a hidden irony over those ideologies. It's not getting anywhere though. It's not an art film and I wouldn't recommend it for family entertainment either. Overall, it's decent, but not worth seeing in my opinion considering the supply of other movies.2/5

There's quite a bit going on in "Train of Life" but it's worth following. The premise is that a shtetl (Jewish community) fears it will be deported to a World War II concentration camp. The village fool, Shlomo, comes up with the idea to purchase a locomotive, train some of the villagers to talk/act/dress like Nazis and head for Palestine in hopes they can fool the real Nazis. Okay, the premise is far fetched. That's a given. But for this film, it works. The close-knit village buys into the plan and sets to work creating the ruse. Shlomo rises about his "village idiot" persona and finds new worth. The fake Nazi commander, Mordechai, begins to take his role a little too literally. There's a subplot about some of the young men converting to Communism. And a small band of resistance workers who try to blow up the train. But the star of this film is not one person, it is the village. They've banded together to survive, which isn't lost amid the humor. There's true fear and hope. Some may feel the villagers are made fun of and lampooned, but there's a healthy respect for the Jewish customs and family closeness in this film. Watch the scene where the villagers prepare for the Sabbath during their journey and you'll see what I mean. Too many films to count have focused on the reality of the Holocaust. There's no deny that it was a horrific event that should never be forgotten. This film does not desecrate or abandon that truth. It simply adds a new dimension worth exploring.