MovieChat Forums > Prénom Carmen (1984) Discussion > The trains

The trains

posted 18 years ago by tilley_mike
2 replies | jump to latest

I saw this film in NYC when it was first released and one image that stuck with me all these years is that of the trains. As I recall the image of two trains meeting each other from different directions on parellel tracks are shown several times until after the two protagonists are "broken up" at which point only one train is shown. I always thought this meant something about their realtionship. Any other points of view?

[–] ThreeSadTigers 15 years ago

I always thought this meant something about their realtionship.

I would agree - it's a visual representation of the relationship between the two central characters.

After their first night together, there's an early morning shot of two ships in the harbour, which seems to be a visual pun on the "two ships passing in the night" figure of speech. The same with the trains – like the characters, they're going in two different directions, meeting in the middle, but unable to continue on the same path.

[–] teejay6682 15 years ago

its not my favorite visual motif but i did like the train imagery.