Woe be unto any like-minded films that follow in the wake of "Life is Beautiful."
Few, if any, movies can switch gears from screwball comedy to tragedy as well as Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning Holocaust piece. But that hasn't stopped others from treading similar ground, including "Jakob the Liar" and now, "Train of Life."
Fortunately, this European fantasy-comedy is at least better than the Robin Williams vehicle. For one thing, it has a sunnier disposition and more of an air of authenticity than that dud.
However, the humor in "Train of Life" is sometimes strained and shrill, and eventually the filmmakers steer the story into a real dead-end.
What's most disappointing is that the film has a great premise. Fearing the arrival of Nazi soldiers, a village of French Jews come up with an ingenious solution to the problem.
Surprisingly enough, it comes from village idiot Shlomo (Lionel Abelanski), who proposes that the villagers fake their own deportation — by buying a train and redecorating it as one bound for the concentration camps. Instead, they plan to use it to travel to Russia and, eventually, to Palestine.
There are several major hurdles, however. First, none of the villagers want to play the crucial roles of Nazi officers . . . except wood-merchant Mordechai (Rufus), who is selected as the "commandant" and quickly grows to enjoy the part.
Then mama's boy Yossi (Michael Muller) begins disseminating Communist propaganda and stirring up trouble, as he and his disciples take over one of the train cars and begin hatching plans of their own.
However, those problems pale in comparison to the threat of discovery by the Nazis, who have finally realized that there's something fishy about this "ghost train" that doesn't stop at any station and seems to be taking a circuitous route to the camps.
Filmmaker Radu Mihaileanu has wisely decided to take a zany, fantasy-like approach to the story. But again, sometimes it's a little too zany, and the dramatic moments never really feel as tense or as threatening as they should.
Also, there are several promising plot lines that are brought up and then dropped all too quickly, such as the bit about outside saboteurs threatening to blow up the train.
But the material is buoyed by a score featuring lively Jewish and Gypsy folk standards, and the good performances from the cast, especially Abelanski, who is adept at convincing us that Shlomo is smarter than he's letting on, and Rufus as the "commandant."
"Train of Life" is rated R for full female nudity, wartime violence (mostly explosions), scattered use of strong language and simulated sex. Running time: 102 minutes.
You can reach Jeff Vice by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com