Movie Review: Railway Children

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A really fun and charming little family film. 

This film is not only about children but aims for its audience to see the world through the eyes of a child. This is where it really works. Despite this movie taking place during war time, we do not see any scenes of actual battle. Instead we see the war through eyes of children. These children may not understand all the complexities of war, but their whole lives have been changed from it and have been very hurt by it. This leads to some truly emotional moments, such as whenever the main kids have talk about their father.  Sometimes it is important to view serious topics through the eyes of a child because often times that is where a lot of great truths lie. This is especially true of hypocrites of people, such as seemingly moral people being guilty of something like racism. When we see racism through the eyes of a child who has been sheltered from it, we see how pointless and stupid it really is and this is why the social commentary works quite well here. However this movie is not all social commentary, there is plenty of time for kids to simply be kids. As has been true since the silent era (think of Hal Roach's Our Gang (also known as The Little Rasals) short films) there is something incredibly charming about simply seeing kids be kids on the screen. Much of the banter between the main children and scenes where they are just being themselves are so delightful. I also love how this movie (despite having  younger audience in mind) is not afraid to slow down and take its time. This works beautifully as this film is wonderfully paced and more engaging because of this.

This movie does have some forced and awkward dialogue though, that even these talented kid actors can't fully make work. Sometimes these little things can take you a little out of the movie. Some scenes can also seem too easy and convenient. This is especially true of the climax of this film, which can stretch the believability of the story a little too much. 

All in all this is a delightful and charming family film, that also gets across an important message quite well.