The Other Side of the Tracks

Plot synopsis:
Ten years after a tragic train accident killed his girlfriend, Josh still lives in the same run-down house and works at the same diner, haunted by memories. His buddy, back in town for their high school reunion, tries to wake Josh from his painful past, telling him to "move on," while a young waitress who looks exactly like his girlfriend did shows up and sparks an instant attraction.The diner's owner is having financial difficulties. Her daughter's lover is a nurse who is taking care of the daughter's uncle, who apparently has been unconscious but stable for a long time. The daughter half-seriously asks her to "pull the plug." The nurse seeks counsel from her lover's mother, who tells her that sometimes you have to let go. Josh's buddy urges Josh to take an interest in the daughter, which Josh finds absurd because of her obvious lesbianism.The waitress sees Josh's mementos of his girlfriend and weeps. She begs Josh to leave the diner. She and Josh's buddy know each other but keep their mysterious connection secret from Josh. She seduces Josh but afterwards he has a vision of her as a corpse. Finally, in a flashback to the train accident, we see that Josh, his buddy, and his girlfriend were together in
a car when the train hit them. An old newspaper clipping shows that both his buddy and girlfriend died. Josh walks onto the train track as a train approaches. The scene shifts to
the hospital, where the nurse's patient has just died. Apparently, Josh was the uncle. The buddy and girlfriend have a cryptic conversation about Josh being gone and neither of them winning.

Tags: paranormal, psychedelic, haunting, flashback

Review:
Student project?.
A bad director can ruin a film despite the cast and crews best efforts.The casting was good as regard the main characters but the hot lesbians, whilst pleasing to the eye did the film no favours.
I suspected that they were a later addition to spice up what was a rather stilted, poorly directed and edited movie, but it just served to spoil the film further(and this is a straight guy speaking).
Anyway, I gathered that this was filmed on a low budget, however the camera work was very good.
I am no stranger to film sets so I tend to notice little things.
The railway line location they were principally using was disused, obviously so with all the rust, weeds and fallen deadwood.
A coat of oil on top of the rails would have covered the rust and given the impression of recent use.
An hour weeding, clearing the fallen twigs and uncovering the sleepers would have completed the impression that it was still in use and not just a defunct line to some old sawmill.
Brendan Fehr has let himself go since Roswell days.
The baggy shirts don't disguise this unfortunately and he walks like someone out of shape too.
What would a gorgeous girl like Amelia really find attractive in a back woods short order chef who is his own best customer?
Chad Lindberg is not a bad actor but his part smacked of just one take being enough to satisfy Mr A.D. Calvo.Remake it with a new scriptwriter, with roles for Natassia and Beatrice that contribute to the story.
Send Brendan to the gym for three hours a day for a month, and don't let A.D. Calvo direct it again..
Deeper than you think.
This Film is deeper than you think.
You have to see it with the Karmhic wheel in mind.
I'm not going to spoil the film, but it's more than meets the eye.
Think of it on several levels before you review.
There is a cult quality to it's form.
Give it a good chance and as I said: Look deeper.
The acting is right in form.
There is deep foreboding throughout.
Excellent main characters with superb appearances from very familiar actors.
The mood is very stark in contrast to the very lush cinematography.
This characteristic alone will keep you guessing.
The music score is excellent in both composition and placement.
Excellent coverage and interpersonal relationships.
Is it confusing?
Yes. It's supposed to be, but the payoff ties everything together nicely, and at the same time leaves options and questions open.
A great movie for thinkers.
Not your run of the mill suspense supernatural thriller.
This film has more to it than meets the eye..
Kept me guessing till the end.
Saw this on Showtime this week and loved it.
Wasn't really expecting anything and was surprised to find a cool independent film on a major cable network.
The music was great and the haunting feel of the story made me want to snuggle up with my guy.
Googled it and saw the film is a bit old.
Not sure why its just coming out.
Definitely the kind of movie you want to watch more than once.
In fact I've already watched it twice.
Lots of twists that put things in a diff perspective.
Chad Lindberg is amazing.
I love ghost stories but don't like too much blood and gore, so this was perfect for me.
Haunting and suspenseful, but not too scary (well, except for one or two good "jumps" :) Recommend it.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised..
Plot less.
I'm glad I didn't see the trailer before watching this film as I would have been even more let down.
It is very slow and really has no plot.
It is definitely short of any real substance.
There is no drama, suspense or energy at all or anywhere in the movie.
It started out being a film I could have really enjoyed but as it went on I kept waiting for something, anything to happen.
And it's another one of those with a empty ending.
The acting was OK but just lacked a story and led to no where.
The trailer hits on the only fairly good parts and adds more drama than what the movie represents.
It would be OK for a teenager but for adults, I wouldn't recommend at all..
haunting and powerful.
I am a big fan of A.D. Calvo's approach to the thriller/horror genre precisely because it is craftily understated, subtle, eerie, goose-bumpy, and truly haunting.
In a genre where movies are commonly padded with obvious digital special effects, cliché chase scenes, gratuitous gore, and incessant explosions, Other Side of the Tracks sets itself apart by being truly about the story first, before the techniques.
It is a carefully conceived and beautifully made psychological thriller whose ending forces one to think back through each scene to try to piece together its full meaning.
It stays with the you for a while, and makes you think about your own perceptions, memories, delusions, fantasies, etc.
Gorgeously filmed in rural Connecticut, featuring a particularly powerful performance by Chad Lindberg, and with a beautiful and evocative score by composer Joe Carrano, Other Side of the Tracks is a remarkable debut film from a very talented director, and I'd like to see where he goes next..
Excellent Movie !!!!.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies.
I was thinking about the movie all night afterward and more the next day.
A friend I saw the movie with, called to mention that he keeps thinking about the movie too.The last movie that left me thinking so much afterward was "A Beautiful Mind".
This is a very well-thought-out story and one that people of all ages would enjoy.
It's hard to categorize this movie as it seems to qualify as a romance, thriller, horror, and perhaps even drama.I can't wait to see it again.
My wife and daughter are very eager to see this after hearing all of my feedback..
Great suspense!.
Beautiful Connecticut summer scenery is the background for this suspenseful story with a surprise ending.
A creative plot line and lush cinematography make this movie a pleasure to watch.
The entertaining film is easy to follow but enigmatic till the end.
This movie stays with you long after is over, forcing you to reexamine your memories of each scene.
I look forward to more productions from this talented new director.
He appears to have a keen sense of mystery and aesthetics.
The movie was reminiscent of The Hours and The Sixth Sense but with a fresh ambiance.
I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good fantasy thriller.
Great film with a great twist!.
Great film!
Great ending ...
I was totally surprised.I really liked Chad Lindberg's performance ...
that guy is a great character actor.
The story takes leads you to believe one thing but in really is different than what you are lead to believe.
It is a film that has a twist that you don't see coming that makes you rethink all of the dialog up to that point.
Clever story with an ending that can be considered uplifting or a tragedy depending on your own point of view.
I also really enjoyed the music in the film.
Lots of great upcoming bands from all over.I definitely recommend it!.
Slow-paced, boring and predictable..
I can not understand the high rates because this film is really awful.
It was so slow I lost interest by the middle of it.
Easy to sort it out, I figured out the plot and the "mistery" in a bit less than an hour.
No surprises.
Acting was poor.
It was really bad.
The end was a "Cliché", well seen in other movies.
Dating back to "The Others" (Alejandro Amenábar ) for example.
The soundtrack is interesting though.
I did not get scared in any moment.
Some scenes did not seem to be necessary.
The female cast is fine.
Well do not need to say much, It's not worth watching.
As I wrote before, It's slow, boring and totally predictable..
Overall not bad.
Very gloomy movie - in a good way.
A little slow (purposely?) but good plot.
Probably low budget but they did well enough with what they had.
Acting a little over the top sometimes by one character to the point of a bit annoying.
Main character dialogue was too 'hesitant' at times but still tolerable.
Very good cinematography and camera use/placement.
The creepiness factor was always present.
Music..
not bad but not so good either.
Still worth watching.
It may be one of those movies you have to be in the mood for though.
For me it was one of those movies you may watch on a lazy, rainy, Sunday morning.
Like the Lifetime Channel does to some people.
It sucks you in and you HAVE to know the rest of the story.
Only this one was much better.
I really enjoyed it..
I really enjoyed it..
Great --Unexpected Good movie.
I had never heard of the movie.
It was on Showtime when I was dozing on my recliner.Excellent Acting by Brendan Fehr, Chad Lindberg, Shirley Knight and (wasn't she a genius on Malcolm???) Tania Raymonde.It may have been written for those of us that watched our loved ones hang on while God is calling them home.I'm not a touchy feely person but it made me think of my my mom who was a strong loving Canuck.
She was proud, always had some mud potion or garlic potion that cured everything.
She hung on to life because she knew we needed her love.
So this movie had nothing to do with a mother in Hospice Care.
It did bring that all back to me, and strangely comforted me.
I think the writers and actors did their job.Thanks.
Oh my Gosh...Incredible!~!.
At first I wasn't sure where the movie was going.
I knew the tiny bit of synopsis.
Josh is upset about losing her girlfriend ten years ago.
His buddy Russ comes back in to town and then you see how things unfold.
The story was great, so many things now make sense after seeing the ending.
I was not expecting the cast to be this good.
It really added to the story so by the end everything makes since.
Of course my true motive to see this film was Chad Lindberg & it only took me three years to see it but it was definitely worth it.
The entire cast made it, and the story at first will seem a little confusing but the cast flows it right a long.
The soundtrack was great a lot of awesome music to be heard through out the film.
I recommend this film to anyone who loves a great cast and a great story!~!.
High School Acting of Grade School Story.
This is really awful ...
the high rating is a JOKE!!!
It would be a great camp fire story to be told to 10 year old's in five minutes.
To drag it out for a full length movie was painful.If makes little sense as it is going ...
and much less sense when it is finally over and you think about it (and I recommend you do not think about it ...
or watch it) They say a good Hollywood movie can be written on a matchbook ...
and this one should have stayed on the matchbook.
Extremely slow and boring (nearly fell asleep twice), and the ending was no shock.
In fact, it was a yawn!The best thing was the lesbian kiss, and one of the lesbian's butt, but there is no nudity ...
so again, great for 10 year old's, and adults should avoid this like the plague..
Not what it appears -- or is it?.
Beautiful, subtle, complex and ultimately gratifying.
This film is a masterpiece of misdirection, (actually several misdirections), understatements, and events and scenes which, when introduced, cause the viewer to re-orient and re-interpret what preceded.
However, the "new" understanding has to be scrapped as yet another scene layers another interpretation.
The question at the end remains: agonal* dream, supernatural events, real life?
Which is which, or are the interpretations mutually exclusive?
Some class this film as "horror," but, if it's horror, it's an entirely different brand - no chain-saws, no slashing, only a few brief scenes of what appears to be an animated dead body- even these can be interpreted at the time of viewing, as nightmares being experienced by the protagonist.
This is my kind of movie.
*agonal - pertaining to death or extreme suffering..
Stuck in the Middle.
As stated in my title, I'm "stuck in the middle" with the movie.
It is a very haunting piece.
Given the film's ending, I decided to watch this again to take the lines and characters in once more.
Having certain religious beliefs, I don't condone the story's plot at all, but I am a definite fan of Fehr.
I must say that the cinematography/photography is absolutely STUNNING.
Watching a second time gave me a chance to notice the individual raindrops on the "Tracks'" windows, the glorious colors of the flowers, and the overall arrangement of the scenes.
When the movie is shown, I flip to another channel.
It is very thought provoking but if you are of a particular faith, this movie will not set well with you.
I gave this movie a 9 out of 10 due to its overall picturesque appeal......