Set in 1940s Italy, “The Children’s Train” (Original title: Il treno dei bambini) is a tragic tearjerker now streaming on Netflix. Co-written by director Cristina Comencini, the film is based on Viola Ardone’s eponymous book. The story follows seven-year-old Amerigo, a boy from a struggling family in war-torn Naples, navigating life amidst poverty and conflict. Subsequently, his single mother makes a difficult decision to send him to the greener pastures in the North to protect his life. Christian Cervone stars as the young kid while Serena Rossi plays his mother. Barbara Ronchi plays the

Set in the 1940s, Cristina Comencini’s “The Children’s Train” (Il treno dei bambini) follows a young boy from Naples being sent to the Northern part of the country to lead a better life, growing up to be an accomplished musician.

“The Children’s Train” (Il treno dei bambini) follows a story set in 1946 when Italy was in the midst of an ongoing war. It created civil unrest, leading to extreme poverty and malnourishment. While adults could barely make ends meet, kids found survival even harder. The parents could not provide children with enough nutrition, which also led to their untimely deaths. One of such parents was Antonietta Speranza (Serena Rossi), a single mother living with her seven-year-old son, Amerigo (Christian Cervone). She had to raise him by herself since his father left her, presumably to the greener pastures in America.

Antonietta cares about Amerigo as well as she can. However, she is not the ideal motherly figure that people expect women to be. Amerigo understands that and does not let it burden her. Despite her overall bluntness, he has a loving relationship with her as her son. As a young kid, he also notices how men ogle at her. He feels protective of her and helps her as well as he can. However, the war doesn’t seem to end nor does their poverty. Antonietta worries Amerigo will die in such difficult situations. Determined to find a better future, she makes the tough decision to join other parents in her neighborhood and take a bold step.

During the war, the Italian communist party was helping rehabilitate children to help them lead better lives until the war ended. Antonietta decides to seek these people’s help for Amerigo. However, the local religious people protest against trusting the communists with their children. They believe in the lies spread by the privileged class who see a change in social dynamic as a threat to their privilege. These poor religious people think Communists will kill and eat their children. They spread the same misinformation to instill fear and erode trust in the communists. Still, Antonietta and other parents decide to go ahead with their plans.

The comrades help children with new clothes and shoes at no charge and take them to their new guardians. The children get down at the station and are taken away by their respective guardians. Unfortunately, no one shows up for Amerigo. Eventually, Derna (Barbara Ronchi), a party member and a single woman, agrees to take Amerigo to her home. She introduces him to her family, who warmly welcome him. They trust the communist values that do not believe in individual possessions and look for equitable distribution of resources based on one’s needs.

While the adults understand the noble intentions behind it, the kids do not, which creates friction between them and Amerigo. Derna’s nephew does not appreciate sharing things with Amerigo. The local kids also tease Amerigo for his foul smell. Besides, Amerigo speaks Italian slightly differently than the Northern people. Therefore, initially, he finds it harder to adjust to his new surroundings and hopes to return to Naples to live with his mother. Thankfully, Derna comes to his rescue.