5/5 (Rail)road movie . . .
  by Ronald Scheer (Los Angeles)
I loved this charming film with a social conscience, set on a train bound for Rome with four sets of characters, whose lives touch only incidentally or profoundly. Italian director Olmi gives us a poignant story of an elderly man touched warmly by memories that imagination has heightened to romantic melancholy. Iranian director Kiarostami follows with a vignette about a 25-year-old man meeting a 14-year-old girl from his hometown, while his employer, an Army widow, relates to him in the only way she seems to know how - by constantly berating him. Finally Ken Loach brings three noisy young football fans into the picture and embroils them in the difficulties of an Albanian family, revealing the significance of the title of the movie.

Each of the episodes is told in a kind of slow-motion (against the constant noise of the moving train and the countryside flying by the windows), the camera lingering on faces, sometimes in extended reaction shots - the scenes between the young man and the teenager being the tenderest, touching, and most delightful in the entire film. A making-of documentary on the DVD shows directors and actors achieving something nearly impossible, the creation of a movie with an international cast and *three* internationally known directors, each with a long filmography and an individual artistic vision, yet somehow working together - all with the assistance of translators. Wonderful film, with humor, sadness, and no small amount of drama.

4/5 Tickets - Three Interwoven Stories On A Train, Interesting and Effective
  by Mark (East Coast)

Tickets is a film of three interwoven stories about various train passengers. The three vignettes are directed by Ermanno Ormi, Abbas Kiarostami and Ken Loach. The stories are very effective and emotionally powerful, but at times it seems that more direction could have made this from a very good movie into a masterpiece.

The film starts with the story of an older professor leaving Innsbruck and dwelling on his attraction to a secretary, played by Valeria Tedeschi. We get to see them interact as we leaves and his various recollections of her.

The second vingette is about a 25-year-old man Filippo accompanying an abrasive widow. She orders him around, sits in other people's seats and generally acts arrogantly in every way. Filippo obediently follows her orders, supposedly fulfilling his "civil service" requirements in helping her during her travel. In the meantime, a very awkward situation arises when he meets several young girls on the train from his hometown. They apparently know him and give him news about his ex-girlfriend. As he talks to them more and more, the situation becomes awkward and creates some friction, perhaps while dragging a bit. The resolution of this vignette is poignant and well executed.

The third and certainly most entertaining section follows three young Celtic football fans on their way to watch a Champions League game in Rome. When one of them loses his train ticket, a quite surprising series of events threaten to derail their journey. While the characters in this section are by far the most entertaining, some of the dialogue does seem forced in order to create a plot line resolution. Without giving the story away, the ending of the film does not make the resolution any more logical. Still, the acting is so good that it's easy to overlook this.

The technique of the interwoven plot line has been used many times before and since in movies like Crash (Widescreen Edition) and Babel. This film treats some similar subjects in a more light-hearted way and also takes a less direct approach. Those who enjoy international and independent film and don't mind slow methodical character development will most likely enjoy this.

Enjoy!

5/5 Worth Seeing
  by Mrs Kooley (California)
Well made film. The actors are engaging, the characters fascinating. Three stories loosley tied together and each has it's own allure. Good balance of depth and levity. Does not have the usual depressing feeling that many foreign films have. The English subtitles do not take away from the stories, as is the case with some films. I wanted to see more of each story.


4/5 Three Tales Set on One Train: Directed by Ormi, Kiarostami and Loach
  by Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan)
Three stories are told in `Tickets' directed by Ermanno Ormi, Abbas Kiarostami and Ken Loach. The entire film is set on a train going to Rome (except flashback scenes) and three stories are loosely connected to one another.

The film begins with Ormi's fantastic and romantic tale about an aged professor (Carlo Delle Piane) leaving Innsbruck, Austria. He feels romantically attracted to a secretary (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) he had just parted at the station and while he knows the train is carrying him further away from her, his memory about her becomes more vivid and sweet.

Next section is directed by Kiarostami. It is about a 25-year-old man Filippo accompanying a loud and arrogant widow (fantastic Silvana De Santis) going to her dead husband's memorial. Filippo, cheerless and obedient, meets teenage girls on the train who know him, and hears news about his former girlfriend. A good story of irony and reversal.

The third one is about three boisterous Celtic football fans (Martin Compston, William Ruane and Gary Maitland, all in Loach's `Sweet Sixteen') from Glasgow, Scotland. They are going to watch a Champions League game in Rome, but one of them discovers his train ticket missing. the incident leads to their meeting with Albanian refugees on the same train.

Three tales show the distinctive touch of each director: Ormi is romantic and spiritual, Kiarostami natural and introspective, and Loach humorous and forward-looking. All the stories are directed with the assured hand of the directors who know how to mix hope and pathos in a balanced way.

Perhaps you find the film is slow-moving, and Loach's story too optimistic. Still the film is well-acted and often funny (the dialogues between the Celtic supporters are amusing), and the characters and atmosphere of the film is so realistic.

5/5 3 great directors, a train to Rome, 3 short films
  by shanarufus (Asheville, NC)
The idea of Tickets is that three directors (Italian, Iranian and English) make a short (25-35 minutes) film that takes place on a train. The first is the Olmi and it was my favorite. One of my favorite international actresses is in it, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, and she takes my breath away as always. The movie is poignant and if you are an older person (think Hopkins in The Human Stain), memory, desire and the passage of time are profound issues. The Kiarostami immediately follows and is a journey to Rome by a mother and son--a dysfunctional relationship at the very least, perhaps abusive is not too strong a word. Dramatic events happen on that train journey and the mother is in the middle of them all, an enemy-making haridan if ever there was one. The end is a satisfying surprise. Then the Loach--3 Scottish lads going to Rome for a soccer game and their encounter with an immigrant family from Albania.

I loved this movie. There are familiar passenger faces throughout. The conductor, of course, and active in the second and third film. The immigrant family is almost background in the first, and almost forefront in the third. I was riveted the entire 100 minutes. Highly recommend.