![]() ![]() The three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis (Phil), find amusement in watching the trains on the nearby railway line and waving to the passengers. It is a disappointing ending to a film that begins with great promise, and, more significantly, a disappointing treatment of an issue that deserves better.The story concerns a family who move to "Three Chimneys", a house near the railway, after the father, who works at the Foreign office, is imprisoned as a result of being falsely accused of selling state secrets to the Russians. The denouement is so rushed that "Railway Children" requires three mid-credit scenes to resolve everything that is left. It's a weighty topic that deserves more thoughtful treatment than a chase scene and a contrived resolution that includes a child’s unforgivably dangerous stunt being portrayed as heroic. Abe’s situation is more compromised than it should be to provide the emotional weight the movie wants it to have.Ībe's character is based on real-life conflicts between Black and white GIs when the military was still segregated but found itself in a country that refused to accept Jim Crow rules, keeping Black soldiers out of bars and restaurants and sometimes abusing them severely. But the storyline about Abe does not work nearly as well as the scenes of the children getting used to their new environment, responding to bullies, exploring, and coming to terms with a war that they cannot fully understand but accept because it's all they've ever known. There is nothing wrong with updating a classic story. Casting directors: put her in a movie with Thomasin McKenzie playing sisters who solve crimes or commit (not too serious) crimes. The young actors give sensitive, moving performances, especially Gadsdon. Kit Fraser’s cinematography has touches of nostalgic sepia in its color palette to evoke the past. ![]() The setting, with many of the same locations from the first film, is used effectively the peaceful, bucolic beauty of the countryside contrasts with the war news and underscoring the children’s adaptability and resolve. Lily agrees to bring him some bandages and he earns her trust by saving her when a bomb lands near them. In the grand tradition of “Great Expectations,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “ The Parts You Lose,” and others, he needs their help. That is where they discover Abe, who tells them he is an American GI on a secret mission. And they enjoy exploring the railyard, where Thomas has set up a secret headquarters for spying that he insists is helping the war effort. But they enjoy exploring the country with its fresh air and unobstructed starry nights. Her kindness makes the newcomers feel at home and they quickly bond with Ann’s son, Thomas ( Austin Haynes). Bobbie Waterbury (Agutter) persuades her daughter Ann ( Sheridan Smith), the school headmistress, to take them. No one wants the three siblings who won’t be separated. When they arrive in Yorkshire, local families are told to pick the whichever children they are willing to take home. ![]() Lily ( Beau Gadsdon), a brave and resilient teenager, promises her mother she will take care of her dress-hating sister Pattie ( Eden Hamilton) and their teddy-bear toting young brother Ted ( Zac Cudby). One mother sobs and snatches her child back from the train because she just cannot bear for them to be separated. ![]() The children are confused and scared, and parents are trying to comfort them. The Nazis are bombing English cities and parents are sending their children to the Yorkshire countryside to keep them safe. The story opens at a Manchester train station. His arc is so clumsily constructed and resolved, at the same time both under- and over-written, that even the very appealing Kenneth Aikens cannot make it work. The storyline is very different, and a new character has been added, a Black American GI named Abe. The setting has been moved from Victorian times to 1944, near the end of World War II. ![]()
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