A man works for the railroads, driving a locomotive. At first sight he seems normal enough, but in reality he suffers from violent impulses which appear mostly during moments of high emotion or arousal. He does not know himself what causes these murderous impulses ; possibly they're a result of a blasted heredity involving pathological alcohol abuse. Perhaps wisely, he shuns human company and busies himself with driving his beloved locomotive. Sadly for all concerned, he crosses paths with a married couple with a very very dark secret...
The movie is based on a book, which is part of a whole cycle written by Emile Zola. Although the movie is one of the great classics, I saw it for the first time only recently. I was surprised to discover that this movie adaptation made for a good noir or proto-noir, complete with a fascinating femme fatale. It's not the most obvious genre I would have chosen, but it works very well. Go figure... Jean Gabin, as the tortured protagonist, gives a great performance, but he's not the only one delivering sterling work.
It's quite a sombre movie, which treats themes like murder, guilt, addiction and mental instability. However, in terms of darkness, pessimism and misery the movie is but a modest field of cabbage compared to the black and savage wood that is the book. Well, as one of my old teachers put it : "One does not read Zola in order to become happy"...
There's a superb, though disquieting evocation of the world of trains and train transport. As a user of public transport - well, as a user of whatever kind of transport - one always hopes and supposes that the driver / pilot is both competent and sane. But what if one had entrusted oneself to a disturbed, conflicted individual capable of manslaughter or suicide ?
The movie is based on a book, which is part of a whole cycle written by Emile Zola. Although the movie is one of the great classics, I saw it for the first time only recently. I was surprised to discover that this movie adaptation made for a good noir or proto-noir, complete with a fascinating femme fatale. It's not the most obvious genre I would have chosen, but it works very well. Go figure... Jean Gabin, as the tortured protagonist, gives a great performance, but he's not the only one delivering sterling work.
It's quite a sombre movie, which treats themes like murder, guilt, addiction and mental instability. However, in terms of darkness, pessimism and misery the movie is but a modest field of cabbage compared to the black and savage wood that is the book. Well, as one of my old teachers put it : "One does not read Zola in order to become happy"...
There's a superb, though disquieting evocation of the world of trains and train transport. As a user of public transport - well, as a user of whatever kind of transport - one always hopes and supposes that the driver / pilot is both competent and sane. But what if one had entrusted oneself to a disturbed, conflicted individual capable of manslaughter or suicide ?