Day 35: "Closely Watched Trains"

Director: Jiri Menzel 1966
A tragi-comedy set in a Czech backwater during the waning days of WW ll. The main character is a young man apprenticing to become a platform guard at the local train station. His goals: do as little as possible and lose his virginity (not so easy since he has a problem with premature ejaculation). Although there are sightings of tired German soldiers and lectures from a minor Nazi bureaucrat, the war doesn't seem to be on anybody's mind--until the end. The film has a gentle touch as it focuses on sex, love, work--and one's duty during wartime.