Pietro Germi (The Facts of Murder) directs and stars in this deeply affecting drama about a train driver. Living modestly with his wife Sara (Luisa Della Noce), Andrea Marcocci’s life is thrown into turmoil when he witnesses a suicide on the tracks ahead of him. Tenderly narrated from the perspective of his young son Sandro (Edoardo Nevola), the incident has repercussions on Andrea and his extended family – including his unemployed son Marcello (Renato Speziali) and pregnant daughter Giulia (Sylva Koscina) – who he is expected to support. A huge success on release, with a tough, muscular performance by Germi at its centre, The Railroad Man should sit alongside the likes of Bicycle Thieves and La terra trema in the pantheon of great neorealistic classics.
