The Children’s Train Parent Guide
Uneven acting and poor pacing dilute the impact of this emotional, thought-provoking story.
Parent Movie Review
It’s a decision no mother should have to make: to keep her child at home in poverty or send him away for a better life. Worn down by the war, the loss of one son, and the challenges of single parenting, Antonietta (Serena Rossi) finally decides to send her eight-year-old son, Amerigo (Christian Cervone) away from their home in Naples to a foster program in Northern Italy. Run by the Italian Communist Party, the program offers the children a chance to attend school and have enough food to eat.
Initially resisting the idea, Amerigo reluctantly boards the train. Equally reluctant is his new host, Derna (Barbara Ronchi), who doesn’t want to foster a child, but as a dedicated Party member feels obligated to do her part. Over the winter, the two slowly develop a bond. Amerigo goes to school, builds relationships with the local children, and unexpectedly demonstrates a flair for the violin. Derna begins to let go of her grief from the war and learn to love her foster son.
When the program’s term ends, Amerigo is torn: he has come to love his new home, but is also anxious to return to his mother. His homecoming is not what he expects… and now he must make new decisions about his life.
The Children’s Train is a bit of a disappointment. Yes, it’s beautifully filmed and looks fabulous but it has some serious problems. Problem number one is the acting. Serena Rossi overacts, as if she’s in a high school play and feels the need to overdo every line, every action so they will be clearly visible from the back row. She’s not entirely to blame here; this is an issue director Cristina Comencini should have corrected. Other scenes also suffer from feeling as if they have transferred poorly from the stage to the screen. They feel like set pieces in a musical – without the music.
Problem number two is the pacing. The first half of the film drags on and on and on before the story picks up its pace and drives up the dramatic tension in the second half. This is going to be a problem for Netflix: It’s my job to stick it out through dull movies but the average viewer can just click away when they get bored.
On the bright side, the film has minimal negative content (although I flinched every time Antonietta described her son as a “punishment from God”). It also raises some interesting issues. From a historical perspective, it’s intriguing to watch the post-war Italian Communist Party engaging in a “hearts and minds” operation. When Amerigo returns to Naples, where the benefits of the foster program have become evident, he’s told that “Everyone’s a Communist now.” In a disturbingly relevant strain, it’s also frustrating to watch the power of disinformation. Rumors swirl through Naples that the children’s train is a Soviet plot: that the evacuees will be dismembered, or murdered, or boiled alive, or fattened and eaten. These outlandish tales sow panic amongst adults and leave the children terrified. We don’t have to look far to see the contemporary relevance.
There’s a reasonably interesting story inside The Children’s Train, if you don’t mind the production’s weak spots. I wouldn’t recommend it for a mass audience, but if you like history and want to learn more about post-war Italy, this might be the film for you.
Directed by Cristina Comencini. Starring Christian Cervone, Barbara Ronchi, Serena Rossi. Running time: 106 minutes. Theatrical release December 4, 2024. Updated December 4, 2024
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The Children’s Train
Rating & Content Info
Why is The Children’s Train rated TV-PG? The Children’s Train is rated TV-PG by the MPAA for language, mild themes, and smoking.
Violence: There’s a wartime bombing but no visible injuries or deaths. Women pray in catacombs filled with skulls and candles. There’s mention of a child’s death from asthma. A man is told his mother has died. False rumors insist that evacuated children are going to be dismembered, murdered, and eaten. A man tells boys that they need to dominate women or they will be dominated by them. Boys steal food because they are hungry. There’s mention of a man’s wartime death by being tied to the back of a truck and dragged through the city, screaming as he dies. A man slaps a woman’s face during a disagreement. An angry mother slaps her child’s face. Boys have a fist fight on the ground. Children find skeletal remains.
Sexual Content: There’s an implied adulterous affair but no on screen activity.
Profanity: The script contains a couple of terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: There are scenes of adults smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. A boy says that his mother taught him to roll cigarettes.
Page last updated December 4, 2024
The Children’s Train Parents' Guide
Why does Antonietta send Amerigo away? What drives her behavior when he returns? Do you believe she’s a good parent? Why or why not? Do you believe that letting him go is a sign of her love? What motivates Amerigo’s decision to return? Do you think he makes the right choice?Home Video
Related home video titles:
There are several films about the evacuation of children, but they focus on the British evacuation of children from the urban bombing of World War II. Most recent is Blitz, the tale of a boy who jumps off the train and has numerous misadventures on his way back home. Summerland features another reluctant host who is transformed by the experience. Three children find themselves involved in racial issues within the US military when they are evacuated to the countryside in Railway Children. From the fantasy genre comes Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Based on C.S. Lewis’s famous novel, this movie tells the story of four evacuates who access a magical land through the back of a wardrobe.