Staying on track

Paul Tomkowicz: Street-railway Switchman (1953)

Directed by Roman Kroitor this is a documentary about a man living in Winnipeg. Having grown up in Poland a man in his 60s now lives in Canada and works stopping the points from freezing on the city railway.

This is a simple look at the life of an immigrant and while interesting it's protagonist is a little too stereotypical in terms of being a “simple hard working immigrant”. It raises my suspicions that this might be a little too much of a government agenda piece but it is still a cool watch. The city is well captured as is the melancholy attitude of it's protagonist.

3/5