Closely watched trains.

This is exactly what it says on the box – a wordless compilation of footage of trains, mainly in Europe from the early part of the 20th century until just post World War II. It’s all black-and-white, the soundtrack is a droning musical industrial noise, with sound effects to match what we are seeing and a hubbub of voices but no real dialogue.

Within the first 10 minutes there is a quick view of Flinders Street Station, probably in the 1910s, but from then on we seem to be consistently in Europe. From footage of trains being constructed, we move through what seems to be a succession of preparations for, or the aftermath of, warfare and the dispossession of people. There are occasional glimpses of good times in between the first and the second World Wars but it is otherwise fairly relentlessly grim.

There is no narration nor titling so we are going with a clickety-clack flow through the years, searching for signs and clothing to help orient us to the decade or the country. As my friend Ariel said, there is a tension in the pit of your stomach as you are waiting for the Holocaust to happen as this is one of those infamous moments where trains are a key antagonist and vehicles for tragedy.

We see it coming with imagery of Charlie Chaplin as the Little Tramp, then the real Chaplin arriving at a train station, and then Adolf Hitler on a train being greeted by adoring people. There is not as much footage of the Holocaust as you might expect, probably because this is drawn from archival footage and not recreations, but we see Jewish people with arm bands being herded on to trains and can’t help but look with deep sorrow at their unknowing faces. We see Nazis feeling smug and then the aftermath as the concentration camps are liberated. You can’t look away even though this is horrific.

I was thinking we might come through to modern times, slowly segueing from black-and-white to colour, but we end somewhere post WWII, in Soviet lands where tanks are being transported and people continue to be dislocated and dispossessed.

It was a meditative experience, and a nice moment to ponder on the importance of railways in Europe in the 20th century as the connector of countries and the main method of travel for the rich and poor alike. I’m not sure what else I draw from this, the lack of context with the times or with modern day makes it feel like a pleasant glimpse through a keyhole and a moment to feel how far away we are from these people.