I am far from the first person who noted that the trains are inherently Chinese. There is a built -in narrative intensity of any story on the train: A huge vehicle is in motion, zooms in from one location to another, and unlike aircraft, a) The train travels close enough to the ground that people can jump or be kicked (Huge conspiracy point in the recent "Blic" of Steve McQueen), and b) still has Just Enough space for dozens of passengers to get up, to walk, communicate, and even beating if the situation calls it. (Fortunately, there are many action movies where the situation really calls, such as "Spider-Man 2." by Sam Raimi.) Video essayist Patrick H. There is a Willems A big recent video for this That I recommend checking out, but today, I want to talk about a special train movie - one of the best I've ever seen.

The film, which came out in 1952, is called "Narrow Margina". Here's the premise: Several police officers are tasked with accompanying the killed widow of the gangster widow of cross-country train driving so they can testify against the gang, but the mafia sent assassins to kill it before it could lower the whole organization. Most of the film - which is only 71 minutes long, by the way - runs on a train, with a primary policeman (played by Charles McGraw), stunningly protecting the Sassic Mel to end her life. It sounds wonderful, right? That is - and I'm not the only one thinking so.

Rotten tomatoes It does not specify many views of the era (most are from this century, looking back on the film), so its 100% rating is not as impressive as a 100-plus review. But the "Narrow Margina" had a big -name defender: François Truffout, a film critic who eventually became one of the key directors behind the French new wave. In his essay "from A to Z", analyzing the "South Sea Sinnak" and "Narrow Margina", he writes that the latter "is accused of very moral nitroglycerin, but gives a grace on which any driver of a hard, slow vehicle can depend. But more modern critics obviously appreciate the film: In fact, he ended up on /List of film of undervalued movies on films Just a few years ago.

This is the type of film I want to recommend to people who are iousubopite for older films, but are not sure where to start. Of course, it is important to check the classics, but films like this-mostly well-designed thrillers without a hint of aspiration outside their assets-all that keeps this industry lasts more than a hundred years. There is something special about a simple B-movie with a modest budget executed to perfection, with characters that make smart decisions that try to overcome each other and survive in tight quarters with a metaphorical jumping watch all the time. (The whole film was shot in just 13 days.) And without giving up anything, it ends up a little more on the "narrow margin" than initially fills the eye, making it even more satisfying than the direct version of this story you may have been. I know there are hundreds Unforgettable movies-centric filmsMany of them are big and glossy, but this unpretentious small thriller is one of the best Hollywood ever produced.

I spoke a little about the movie of today's episode of /film daily podcast, which you can hear below:

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