The Obscure Tales of a Train Passenger

After taking her husband to a clinic, publisher Helga Pato (Pilar Castro) meets psychiatrist Ángel Sanagustin (Ernesto Alterio), who works at the clinic himself, on the train ride back. He begins to tell of his most unusual case. But the story of a soldier who falls in love with a woman at war, who fights tooth and nail to keep a children's hospital open, is only the beginning of an absurd trip in which different stories intermingle, heading inexorably towards a bizarre abyss of obsessions, perversions and madness.

"The Obscure Tales of a Train Passenger" is difficult to describe. Director Aritz Moreno tells a story within a story within a story, which in turn leads into another story. sounds confusing and it is. The whole thing is a wild mix of jet-black satire, dark mystery thriller and visually stunning delirium. This is truly not light cinema fare - but all the more thrilling for it. The film manages to surprise its audience anew almost every minute, switching from one extreme to the next in a completely unexpected way.

So the whole thing is incredibly funny or completely bizarre one moment, only to punch you in the pit of your stomach with full emotional force. Moreno very cleverly manages to make you feel extremely uncomfortable while watching his film - and really enjoy it in a very special way. Not infrequently, you wonder what the whole thing is about without being able to escape the fascination of the production. In the end, truly not all questions are answered, but perhaps that is also what makes this literally obscure work so appealing.

"The Obscure Tales of a Train Passenger" is not a film for friends of the relaxed mainstream. To truly enjoy this gem, you have to like it weird, nasty, bloody, completely off-the-wall and challenging in content. If you're feeling appealed now, you should definitely give this original story matryoshka a chance. So quickly you will not forget this film guaranteed again. Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp