Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man), post-war Italy through the lens of Pietro Germi

In order to revisit a popular film by a forgotten filmmaker

When we think of 1950s Italian cinema, we always think of Federico Fellini, Vittorio De Sica, and others. However, Pietro Germi was an extremely popular filmmaker at the time. In Italy, he always sold more tickets than Fellini. He even won an Oscar and a Palme d’Or during his career for Signore e Signori (The Birds, the Bees and the Italians) in1966. And yet, this filmmaker kept his distance from both his colleagues and the film world. He didn’t like journalists and never gave interviews. He criticised the communists and the labour unions, which was quite frowned upon at the time. He was in no way fond of intellectual films either, and firmly declared that the 7th art should be for the general public. His films always approached psychological and emotional aspects in a very interesting and complex manner. He died in 1974 at a time of great success. Pietro Germi deserves to be discovered again. He played a very important role not only in the history of Italian cinema but in Italy itself.

For its relevant chronicle of post-war Italy

Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man) is a very relevant historical record. Pietro Germi had the ability to delve inside families in order to reveal their problems in all frankness at a time when Italy was still very Christian. He described the problems of marriage, alcohol, and relationships within the home. This was extremely courageous on his part, and he did it in a very relevant way. The film is a historical record of the life of an Italian family in the 1950s. Just after the Second World War, Italian cinema saw the emergence of Neorealism, with production was very difficult among the rubble of the war. In the 1950s, a genre then appeared that became known as Pink Neorealism. It represented a period during which the public wanted to go to the cinema to watch more lighthearted films and comedies. This is the time when the first Italian comedies, which were social comedies, appeared. Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man) went a little bit against the tide in this sense since it was a drama based on a very serious theme. It remains unique since few films genuinely portrayed Italian society at the time. Italian filmmakers were beginning to go in a much lighter direction. Pietro Germi is merited with staying away from this production trend.

For the cinematic quality of Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man)

Pietro Germi was very attached to the editing work. From this point of view, Il Ferroviere was the antithesis of an intellectual film—slow, with long sequence shots. As reflected in the first scene, Il Ferroviere (The Railroad Man) is a film in which Germi worked enormously with cuts. He always made very dynamic films. He was also greatly inspired by North American films. The film’s rhythm was ahead of its time, which is why it hasn’t aged at all. He also knew how to use music well, and his style was very modern.

For Pietro Germi’s acting performance

This is one of the last films in which we can admire Pietro Germi as an actor. He plays the main character in the film. It’s worth noting that he first dreamed of being an actor before becoming a director. Unfortunately, his ambition was cut short when he suffered a facial paralysis. He was a good actor and a very good director of actors. Pietro Germi loved working with novice actors, which is why you get the impression you’re watching regular people in his films. A large part of the film takes place in a bistro, and it really feels as if the actors are just locals.