Tickets

The image of trains come to mind when one is talking about the most annoying means of transport.This has a lot to do with the fact that one cannot travel in trains without being disturbed by other passengers.This can be true about other means of transport such as airplane,bus or ship.However,there are enough damage control mechanisms on these modes of transport which enable passengers to face minimum amount of disturbance.No mechanism for eliminating disturbance can be found on trains as they are the cheapest means of transport.For this reason, traveling by trains is like inviting trouble before,during and after the journey.Trouble is also something one can find in abundance in 'Tickets' directed by three giants of three different film producing countries.They have directed three stories where viewers can experience longing for love,compassion and indifference.Lastly,'Tickets' would turn out to be a good learning experience for all those viewers who combine entertainment with a serious message.

I put this on not having a clue what to expect and what a pleasant surprise it was. 1 train trip to Rome, 3 different directors, 3 different stories, and an intertwining passenger cast.

Part 1 - Ermanno Olmi. Part 2 - Abbas Kiarostami. Part 3 - Ken Loach.

1, The way everyone's eyes fixate and follow anyone making a noise on the train really gave me anxiety.

2, I found the second part more interesting. It gets you thinking a bit and had me feel pretty judgmental by the end.

3, This chapter was my favourite. Simple, effective and a good way to end the film.

When I first started watching this movie I was looking for some kind of subtle metaphors but it soon dawned on me that this movie was indeed about people on a train. The interactions between people are like those you can see any day on the street and when in occasion there is a slightly more interesting situation the dialogue becomes stilted and boring. Its not that I don't get how this film is trying to portray the way people interact, it's just that in this film they are very boring. If you want to see and analyse these kinds of relationships you'd be best to actually go out and buy a train ticket and look at the people on the train with you. It is realistic but you wouldn't go to a movie to watch a film about you sitting there watching the movie.

Seems like Ticket didn't quite turn up to be quite a hell of a ride for me. If a Cinephile wants to see a good Journey film there are better options than this. I was awaiting to see this for a very long time and when i eventually viewed it was a disappointing watch. The settings and the characters are quite believable but the dialogues i mean common we do expect a lot especially when an Kiarostami, Olmi and a Loach is directing a film. There are far superior films than (Tickets) which involves Train Journey's that has been made by film directors and the one film that immediately stuck my mind is Nayak (1966) one just have to look for it.

And thank God that his segment was last because it rescued what until then had been a dull, pointless film.

If his piece had been set at the start of the train journey, the other two sections would have seemed even more disappointing and excruciating.

I've always admired the way Loach has continued to use cinema as a means of social commentary. I don't always agree with his message particularly when it is surprisingly naive and unfounded (Bread and Roses being a prime example) but his films are always worth seeing.

Thankfully, his piece about a trio of Celtic fans travelling to Rome is the standout in this film in the same way as his contribution had been to 11'09''01 - September 11.

What had gone before it was pretty dire. First of all, there had been the story of a Roy Scheider lookalike Professor and a PR lady who inexplicably has the hots for him.

As he is about to board the train, he says to her that they have never met before even though she was with him earlier and booked the tickets! Maybe there was something going on there that I missed...

The next section involved an incredibly annoying old battle-axe, a General's widow, a man on community service who accompanies her and a whole series of boring, pointless discussions and encounters. One such encounter was between the man and a 14 year old girl he had known several years earlier that made me worry a little about where it was going.

In fact, it didn't lead anywhere at all; it was as tedious and unnecessary as the rest of that story.

Loach's work isn't one of his best but it was good enough to improve something that was pretty dreadful and leave us with a mediocre film that ended on a high note.

I would recommend skipping the first two stories altogether and just watch Loach's instead. Everything that went before it is really not worth the bother.