La petite dame du wagon-lit: A Train Ride You Might Want to Skip

Is it worth your time?

Honestly? Only if you have a very specific craving for 1930s French stage-bound comedies. If you’re the type of person who finds theatrical, high-speed misunderstandings charming, you might have a decent time. If you get bored when people spend 90% of the runtime shouting in a single train car, steer clear.

The whole thing feels like a play that forgot it wasn't on a stage anymore. Every movement is so deliberately choreographed that it feels stiff, like everyone is terrified of bumping into the furniture.

Roger—our poor, fake doctor—is sweating through his collar for about an hour of screen time. You can tell the actor is trying his best, but there is only so much panic one guy can project before it just becomes noise. 🚂

There is this one moment with the luggage rack that goes on for way, way too long. It’s supposed to be funny, I guess? But it just felt like a bunch of adults wrestling with a suitcase while the rest of the plot waited in the hallway.

I couldn't help but think about The Rawhide Terror while watching this, purely because of how wildly different the energy is. One is all grit and dust, and this one is all frantic hat-swapping and door-slamming.

The dialogue is fast. Like, really fast. Sometimes it’s snappy and clever, other times it’s just people talking over each other so they can hit their cues. It’s exhausting to keep up with, even if you’ve seen a dozen films like this before.

Some notes from my notepad:

• The train set looks like it’s made of cardboard and good intentions.
• The uncle character is exactly the kind of grumpy old man you expect, right down to the ridiculous mustache.
• Why is everyone always yelling in the dining car?
• The lighting is surprisingly moody for a movie about a fake marriage.

It’s not a masterpiece. It doesn’t pretend to be one, either. It’s just a weird little artifact of a time when the "fake identity" trope was the bread and butter of every studio in Europe.

If you enjoy stuff like Mágnás Miska for the sheer absurdity of the social climbing, you might find a sliver of enjoyment here. But don't expect it to change your life. Sometimes, a movie is just a movie. And sometimes, it’s just a long, loud train ride that goes nowhere fast.