Audiences have given a recently added Netflix movie a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, but you’ll definitely need to stock up on tissues before you give it a go.
There are plenty of feel-good Christmas movies and festive comedies around at this time of year, but sometimes you just need a good cry, and Netflix knows it.
To satisfy that need, the streaming service has released a movie adapted from a 2019 novel written by Viola Ardone, which itself is based on true events.
Set in the aftermath of World War II, the story sheds light on survivors of the war in Italy who were left trying to care for their families and live as best they could after being left with nothing.
The movie details how the country’s Communist Party introduced a program called Treni della Felicità, or Happiness Trains, which would take children to the north of Italy so they could live with families in the more prosperous part of the country.
As one mother living in Naples struggles to give her son, Amerigo, the life she wants him to have, she signs him up for the Happiness Train as a last resort, leaving viewers to watch how the separation affects both of their lives.
The movie, which is in Italian, arrived on the streaming service on October 20, but many are only just discovering the film and praising its storyline.
70,000 children were relocated through the program (Netflix)
“It’s a beautiful story I loved it,” one person wrote about the movie on LADbible’s Netflix Bangers Facebook group.
“It moved me. I’m a mom and it made me cry,” another added, as a third commented: “It was a great watch. Very touching.”
Titled The Children’s Trainthe movie stars Christian Cervone as a young Amerigo, as well as Barbara Ronchi, Serena Rossi and Stefano Accorsi.
The characters in the movie are fictional, but the events depicted are inspired by the real Happiness Trains which ran between 1945 and 1952 and relocated approximately 70,000 children in total.
The movie has a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (Netflix)
The Children’s Train is yet to receive a score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but its ‘Popcornmeter’ from audiences stands at an impressive 98 percent, highlighting its success.
One reviewer on the platform wrote: “Beautiful, heartfelt movie, without too much tension and plots. Well dubbed. I didn’t feel I miss something by not watching it with its original soundtrack. One of the few movies that I’ll watch again. Thank you cast and crew. I loved it.”
Stream The Children’s Train on Netflix now.
