Pietro Germi

 Pietro Germi



The Railroad Man (1956)



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1. The Railroad Man (1956)


Pietro Germi, typically known for his Commedia all'Italiana films, went a bit more neo-realist drama with his 1956 film "The Railroad Man." The film is a coming-of-age story centering on a young boy who watches his family fracture after his alcoholic father loses his job as a train operator. What's notable about this plot is that the young boy doesn't understand the external and economic stressors that are pushing his family to extremities. The viewer completely understands, thus underlying the socio-economic factors that creates the domestic drama. "The Railroad Man," although not as laugh-out-loud funny as Germi's typical films, adheres to its neo-realist roots in pointing out the intimate problems that arise from a broken economic system.

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