In today's CNN‑saturated world, it is hard to imagine a time when major wars and battles were not covered by omnipresent cameras. However, even fifty years ago that was the sadly true for many theatres of the Second World War, including the former Yugoslavia. Those circumstances left a lack of documentary footage for future makers of propaganda newsreels and television shows. Instead, they had to show some creativity in order to connect pictures with words. Former Yugoslav television, when it had to deal with the subject of guerrilla activity in 1941, usually showed a very impressive shot of a troop‑carrying German train derailing due to Partisan sabotage. Many years later, the author of this review was very surprised to discover that the shot actually had nothing to do with the former Yugoslavia at all. It was part of The Battle of the Rails, a French WWII film by René Clément, made in 1946 and considered one of that nation's cinematic classics ever since.
Although a classic, this movie would struggle to attract a modern audience. The major problem would be the lack of a plot in the modern‑day sense. At the beginning we are presented with a series of short vignettes and anecdotes that portray French railroad workers and officials in Nazi‑occupied France. Naturally, they are all part of the resistance movement, and we follow their actions—such as smuggling Jews and other resistance members across demarcation lines—and witness their ingenuity in disrupting German military transports. However, somewhere in the middle of the film, the Allies land in Normandy and the resistance is faced with a real challenge: a huge military transport that is protected by an armoured train. Through a series of complicated procedures, sabotages and armed conflicts (one of them ending disastrously for the resistance) they finally manage to stop that train from reaching the front and prevent the retreating Germans from destroying the railroad themselves.
The film not only lacks a mainstream plot, it also lacks mainstream protagonists. The real hero of the movie is the collective spirit of the French Railways, and most of the actors happen to be—or seem to be—real‑life railroad workers playing themselves in very short, but convincing roles. One reason for this is the somewhat blurred line between the documentary and feature character of this film; another lies in the circumstances of its own production. René Clément actually began making this picture during the Nazi occupation, and some of the scenes that chronicle resistance activity are genuine documentary material, obviously shot in situations that were dangerous for the cast and crew.
Despite these virtues, The Battle of the Rails, with its low production values and complicated plot, now seems somewhat dated and is more appropriate material for history classes than for cinematic entertainment.
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on October 3rd 1998)
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