A train called hope

There are so many journeys of hope that one makes in life, now for the promised land, now for the healing sought, when one sets off and sets out by any means to reach one's destination. In Latin, the act of setting out is said in two terms, one more physical, our walking, and the other more spiritual, 'camminum', which is what happens when one takes the train of hope to Lourdes.

The docufilm "Chi sale in treno" directed by Valerio Filardo recounts the last journey from Palermo to Lourdes in a heartfelt and choral way, making it a life experience. The camera observes in silence, without a narrator's voice, listening to the direct testimony of the protagonists reported and whispered against the backdrop of the train's rapid clanking. In the small community gathered on the train, many lives are intertwined, to which Rosella, a tireless volunteer, always on the move between one carriage and another, goes. Thanks to the camera, the viewer also makes the same encounters, first with Francesco, a young man suffering from muscular dystrophy, then with Francesca, a scrupulous doctor who combines competence and empathy for the sick, or with the railwayman Mimmo. Through them, a choral tale takes shape that expresses the commitment to 'doing good things well'.