Synopsis

German-occupied Czechoslovakia in the last days of the Second World War. Miloš, a shy young lad, follows his father’s footsteps and becomes a train station guard. His actual desires, however, are directed towards the female gender and the anticipated loss of his virginity. And Miloš takes his objective seriously – probably too seriously. After a failed attempt to sleep with the beautiful train conductor Máša for the first time in his life, he tries to kill himself by cutting his wrists. The doctor reassures him: Miloš simply suffers from premature ejaculation. The young man’s condition doesn’t stay secret for too long. As more and more people learn of his issue, they offer well-intentioned advice to relieve his ailment. The terrible war raging in the background loses importance in this town, where only government news and orders remind one of outside happenings. But the battles are not over yet. The New York Times traced the charm of this tragicomedy to the film’s exceptional calmness and its sensitivity to understatement. Today, the coming-of-age story, Closely Watched Trains, is a must-see monochrome classic. Jiří Menzel’s shining directorial work, supported by an outstanding cast, received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1968.