In an entertaining and interesting television documentary from one of Denmark's top documentarians, Copenhagen's central train station is portrayed as something more than walls and a roof around a necessary means of transportation. Through the camera lens and the excellent interviews with the people who inhabit the station we hear a variety of stories: 'Roligans' returning in disappointment from a football match, a family who await the return of their family member from America after several decades, a man who comes to the station with two parrots on his shoulders to have his picture taken, an old woman who invariably sits in a corner to watch the travellers walk by, a prosthetic leg forgotten in a train, fireworks in the sky outside on Saturday night.
Documentarism with a topic as simple, yet complex as this is rarely seen better. Director Poul Martinsen presents us with a work of artistic and documentarist value while from start to finish focusing on the humanistic craftsmanship of telling good stories about actual people. Everyone really does have a story worth telling, at least in this train station. Bjørk Aabech's inspired photography of architectural details and everyday situations help to make this little film an excellent example of well-made, relevant documentarism.
Documentarism with a topic as simple, yet complex as this is rarely seen better. Director Poul Martinsen presents us with a work of artistic and documentarist value while from start to finish focusing on the humanistic craftsmanship of telling good stories about actual people. Everyone really does have a story worth telling, at least in this train station. Bjørk Aabech's inspired photography of architectural details and everyday situations help to make this little film an excellent example of well-made, relevant documentarism.