The Railway Children

Trains moving? Helpful people at stations? This really is a period piece.

A series of disconnected events. I had thoughts of Boxcar Children so in contrast the kids here are never in any real danger or poverty. They get a lot of free time to roam around a friendly British village, mostly near the train station and its porter. What's the mom doing? Fav scene: the porter's reactions to the children setting up presents for him was quite realistic---first he feels embarrassed that people are going to assume he's poor, then he comes around to the family movie message.

Set in the early 1900's, a father is arrested, the mother and three children must move to a rural setting. The story is mostly charming and Jenny Agutter's character is sweet. The pretense of the story is a bit thin, but the performances are mostly entertaining. Good for all ages.

On the plus side this has the charm of nostalgia to a sweet and innocent times. On the downside I found the kids to be too typically English uptight and posh to really identify and empathize with. These are kids that go on adventure with an attitude of "I better not get my clothes dirty, that would be so unbecoming." And while they fall on harsh times, they clearly still belong to the upper class and have it better than most people.

Overly sentimental.

Charming.

Classic.