MovieChat Forums > The Train (1965) Discussion > Was There a Love Interest?

Was There a Love Interest?

posted 17 years ago by topaz-27
14 replies | jump to latest

When Labiche and Christine are in the wine celler he attempts to take her in his arms, but she brushes his hands away. After talking about the friends they have lost in the course of the war, the 2 embrace tenderly. The director wisely chose to leave what, if anything, happened between the two to the viewer's imagination. In the comentary on the film, Frankenheimer says a love scene at that point would "be gratuitous". Do others think that Labiche and Christine made love that afternoon? I see the embrace not as the beginning of a sexual interlude, but as an expression of shared grief.

[–] billyed 17 years ago

No, I doubt there was a love interest. It was a "Brief Encounter" between two people, fighting the Germans and trying to stay alive in war time. She was the owner of the little railroad depot hotel where he stayed for a few hours to rest.

"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything!"....

[–] bullit2513 17 years ago

Agree with billyed. There was a connection there between them because of what they'd been through, but I believe that's about it. Maybe in a different time....

"Congratulations, Major. It appears that at last you have found yourself a real war." Ben Tyreen

[–] Mark_Alldridge 17 years ago

Yep. Labiche had no time for all that shenanigins! He had a train to stop!

[–] aeolus847 17 years ago

It's ambivalent, and that's really what makes it work in the film. Frankenheimer says in the DVD commentary that "anything more would've been gratuitous" and he's right: as a viewer, you don't specifically know or not, but it works for either one, and I myself have (and still do) considered both (a love interest, or not) as valid possibilities. But, indeed, anything more would have gotten in the way and would have come off to me as just pandering -- the whole thing is handled brilliantly in the film.

[–] rwsmith29456 15 years ago

Yeah, they probably didn't make love but I'm glad they left it to our imagination. It made for a much better movie.

[–] Focke_Wulf 15 years ago

Interesting question. I'm inclined to think they didn't make love that afternoon either, but the connection of loss and war weariness was real. If they had met at another time, who knows.

Conversely, I'm thinking of the role Meryl Streep played in "Plenty," in which she bonds and definitely makes love in time of danger with fellow SOE operative Sam Neill. The subtext for the rest of the movie is that nothing was ever as vital or meaningful for her ever after. . . inlcuding when she met Neill at a reunion of SOE and Resistance types in the sixties and they retire to the same inn where they had sought refuge during the war. At that point the magic was gone even if the scene was the same. ..

And then there's Monica Bellucci and Bruce Willis in "Tears of the Sun." A very straightforward situation there. I suppose there was a certain chemistry there if you looked for it, but it was just two strong wills doing what they needed to do. I think a romance would have spoiled the dynamic in that film. . .

There seems to be an assumption that there must be a romantic interest in an action film or novel/story to bring the women along for the ride. I'm not sure that this is always true, and if it's not handled with a certain situational realism and care to character, I think it does come off as pandering or patronizing. But it can be a vital part of the story, because in times of stress people do bond, sexually and otherwise, to deal with the terrors of a given situation. It can even be played "hot," but woe to the director and actors who don't understand the whole package. Jude Law and Rachel Weisz in "Enemy at the Gates" come to mind as an example of such a scenario working well in the context of a larger historical action film.

"I'm not from here, I just live here. . ."

-James Mc Murtry

[–] ohmscrabtree 15 years ago

I always like to think that Labiche sought out Christine after the Allies victory and they begin a mature relationship ending in them spending the rest of their lives together....two weary people finding an un-ending solace in each other...

[–] jkholman 14 years ago

...and if it's not handled with a certain situational realism and care to character, I think it does come off as pandering or patronizing. But it can be a vital part of the story, because in times of stress people do bond, sexually and otherwise, to deal with the terrors of a given situation. It can even be played "hot," but woe to the director and actors who don't understand the whole package. Jude Law and Rachel Weisz in "Enemy at the Gates" come to mind as an example of such a scenario working well in the context of a larger historical action film. - Focke Wulf

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Special effects and nudity/sexual action in film have one thing in common: if improperly applied the film suffers badly. One of the best applications of strong special effects was Jurassic Park. One of the best applications of a sex scene was Enemy at the Gates. (another on-time sex scene was in Johnny Got His Gun. While not in the book, the liberty of the film maker was justified by the nurse's compassion and empathy for Joe Bonham)

- JKHolman

[–] Focke_Wulf 14 years ago

JKH, your thoughts on effects AND nudity/sexuality in film are intriguing. I like my action films where they blow stuff up real good as well as the next fellow, but I prefer to have a plausible plot, some semblance of historical similitude if the film treats of an historic era, and to see the characters taking a beating, as it were, when doing their feats of derring do. The "simple" act of transfering from a helicopter to a submarine in a stormy sea in "Hunt For Red October" is an excellent example of the last concept.

Sex and/or violence is another kettle of fish altogether, but I know when I think I've seen it done right. I'm not against the concept of explicit portrayals as in "9 Songs" or "Intimacy," but that's not of necessity the key element if the story or mere atmospherics aren't there. The sensual fireworks in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" were intense, believable, and contextual within the confines of the story, and juxtaposed against the historical drama of Prague Spring in 1968, posed a vivid contrast.

I have not read Kundera's novel. I've been led to understand he was not terribly taken with that adaptation of his work. But I'll accept the film as is. I feel the same about how the relationship between Christine and Labiche was handled in "The Train."

"I'm not from here, I just live here. . ."

-James Mc Murtry

[–] farberw-1 9 years ago

I had that same thought as well, only I would not have stated it as poetically as you did. Amongst all the action & inhumanity of the war, two people shared a few moments of tenderness & courage. It was a welcomed relief, portrayed by two actors at the height of their powers. Had I been in Labiche's situation I don't know if I would have ever left Christine in that basement. Of course he had leave, he had no choice but to do so. I recently saw this film again (2012) in a small theater in Suffern, NY (The Lafayette.) It is a masterpiece of film-making. The interplay of Burt Lancaster & Paul Scofield is powerful, add to this Jeanne Moreau & you have superb casting. The choice of filming in b&w was a stroke of genius. Am I over-praising & over-selling this film; you bet I am! see it, over & over again. It only gets better with time.

[–] greenbudgie 8 years ago

I was wondering if Labiche and Christine would have met afterwards and become an item. I admired Christine for her seemingly frigidity, when many people in the war would have given in immediately to their urges in such dangerous times.

[–] Ethereal-Cloud 10 years ago

I'm surprised that nobody got the correct answer. The main love story in the movie was Von Waldheim and the artwork*. He was so in love, he was willing to push, lie and even kill for it.

*First Act- In the cover of night, he sneaks away to visit the artwork (his mistress) and adores it 'romantically' by candlelight (spotlight).

[–] farberw-1 9 years ago

How clever of you to point this out. I was too busy & involved with Christine & Labiche's relationship that I missed this completely. If I had had to choose between Christine & "the art," I don't know which one I would have picked. To look at the pictures on a wall or to look at her & hold her, in that polka dot dress, ... oh my!

[–] 8 years ago

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