Closely Watched Trains (1966)

CZECHOSLOVAK CLASSICS: Classics from the unrivalled history of Czechoslovak cinema. Screening throughout September and October at De Uitkijk.

At a village station in occupied Czechoslovakia, a clumsy trainee stationmaster longs to lose his virginity. Oblivious to the war and the resistance movement around him, the young man embarks on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery, uncovering a world of frustration, eroticism and adventure within his sleepy, remote station.

CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS (1966) was made by director Jiri Menzel during the Prague Spring, a period of political and cultural liberation, as a humorous commentary on the behaviour of the population during the occupation.