Johnny Berlin (2005) User Reviews

A Great Portrait Film

[wolfbanecocktail06 · 10/10 · 18 September 2006]

This is a one-of-a-kind movie, a portrait of an individual so rarely seen in films today. This film played at a bunch of festivals and I had the opportunity to see it at two. It gets better with each viewing. The subject of the film grows on you. Johnny Berlin hearkens back to the Beats with his naive yet poetic commentary on the world around him. Trains are soon to become all but extinct in the United States, and the train porter is a rare breed indeed, but Johnny is no ordinary porter. I highly recommend this film to anyone who's interested in trains, people who like to observe life, and those searching for comedy in odd places. Johnny's personality may induce feelings of kinship or disownment, but I believe we all have a little bit of Johnny in us. He is indeed the everyman. IndiePix.net is slated to have this title for sale starting in December of 2006.

Johnny Berlin is Everyman's Phylosopher

[anon-shopper · 10/10 · 22 September 2007]

This candid portrait of Johnny Berlin reflected an image of myself that showed me how to maintain my aspirations while allowing me to appreciate the mundane aspects of my life.

The tight and thoughtful editing of this documentary film never left me wondering what was going on. The concept is brilliant. The (anti)star of the film is so genuine and appealing that I couldn't help but identify with him and want to spend more time with him. The unique setting underscores the fact that Johnny is at once isolated yet intimately involved with his environment.

This film serves an inspiration to the "everyman" that is within all of us.

Riding the rails with a Beat for our generation

[yellowtonkatoy · 10/10 · 24 November 2008]

Johnny Berlin is one of the most heartfelt character portraits ever made. The main character, a Beat-like train porter, has a bad case of wanderlust, and he's constantly moving all right, but shackled to his job on board a luxury train. His stream of consciousness monologue ranks with the best of them. His stories about trying to pay into his father's life insurance so he can get a bigger payout, trying to sell his liver for cash, and writing a novel about a man trying to roll across the United States are hilariously dark material, yet the film as a whole retains a lightheartedness akin to the documentaries of Les Blank and the early work of Errol Morris.

Disappointing film.(2)

[oscar-35 · 24 April 2013]

*Spoiler/plot- Johnny Berlin, 2005. The day to day story and thoughts of a modern day railway porter.

*Special Stars- Johnny HYms *Theme- Physical labor dignifies the individual.

*Trivia/location/goofs- Documentary. Shot in rail lines and stations of Washington, Oregon, and California traveling North to South. There is a sequel film to this one involving New York City.

*Emotion- While I found the subject matter relating to our railways interesting, the presentation of the one main character to be uninteresting and then boring. Little was done to make this 'a day in the life' type of presentation appealing to watch for the length of this film. It could have been shorter since the work and personality of Johnny 'Berlin' had a limited shelf-life on film. The film was initially interesting and the third act was too slow paced with a film ending that leaves you 'flat'. A disappointing film dud that could have had such promise with some more on-screen production imagination and subtle better camera work.