Format: DVD
Rail Away APWDVD 1097
According to the box, this DVD is one of
a series presenting over 50 worldwide railway journeys. It covers Hungary and Romania, sadly devoting
a mere 25 minutes to each. Both films
are dated 1997 and display modest production values. The films are not solely about the railways;
in fact they take a while to get to the topic, instead devoting time to
scene-setting in the respective capitals.
That may annoy the railway buffs, as may
the fact these are not specialised examinations of the railway system of either
country but are essentially travelogues, with the emphasis on the journey
rather than the means (though naturally there is some information on the
trains). For those not of such a
persuasion, they may be pleased there is nothing of a technical nature and the commentary
is pitched at a general audience.
The narration is by an American, and I
found his pronunciation grated after a while.
The musical accompaniment is off-the-shelf, which reduces costs but is a
shame when the country’s music could have been employed to great effect in
enhancing the atmosphere. The tone of
the narration tends to be patronising, with much about the quaint old-fashioned
way of life in Eastern Europe. The box’s
blurb quotes part of the narrator’s introduction to the Romanian leg:
‘Romania, a country on the borderline of
the Middle and East Europe. By rail we travel from the capital Bucharest to the
heart of the country. In a way travelling through Romania is like travelling
through time. At places where the rails cut through the country, we see
pictures that in the West belong to the past. We'll visit the centres of
Bucharest and Brasov. With their little bricks and old-fashioned houses these
cities provide romantic scenery.’
This is an all-too common way of
describing Romania, in terms of picturesque primitivism. The Hungarian film covers two separate
journeys starting in Budapest, whereas the Romanian one focuses on a single
journey from Bucharest, travelling north to Ploiești*, Sinaia, Brașov, and
ending at Vatra Dornei, a distance of about 265 miles.
There is a limit to what can be included
in under half an hour but it still possible to admire the countryside, even if
the commentary is at times frustratingly bland about the sights along the
way. Little time is spent on Bucharest
compared to the amount the Hungarian film spends on Budapest as there seems to
be more to see outside the capital in Romania.
Naturally much has happened since 1997 –
not least admission to the EU – so the Romanian film is not representative of
the current state of the railway system, but it is still a useful introduction
to that particular route. One cannot
help feeling, though, it was a missed opportunity to explore the country’s rail
network more broadly, and enthusiasts are probably going to feel
short-changed. Both films are available
on Youtube. This is the Romanian
episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTyQnspr5bc.
* By chance I discovered today that the
Romanian artist Geta Brătescu, who died on 19 September 2018 aged 92, was born
in Ploiești.
