''Music for a Blue Train'' is a 48-minute 2003 documentary about busker musicians in the

Montreal Metro The Montreal Metro (, ) is a rubber-tired underground rapid transit system serving Greater Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The metro, operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, during the tenure ...

subway train system. It was written and directed by

Mila Aung-Thwin Mila Aung-Thwin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, producer and activist whose films deal with social justice. He had a multi-disciplinary education in arts, journalism, and photography. In 1998, he met his fellow director/producer Daniel Cros ...

EyeSteelFilm EyeSteelFilm is a Montreal-based Canadian cinema production company co-founded by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin, dedicated to socially engaged cinema, bringing social and political change through cinematic expression. Today the studio is run by ...

and produced by Germaine Ying Gee Wong for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. A harmonica player known as

Bad News Brown Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 Summer O ...

(real name Paul Frappier) acts as an impromptu host in the documentary bringing the viewers snippets of the lives of musicians in Montreal's subway system – The Metro – run by

Société de transport de Montréal The Société de transport de Montréal (, STM; ) is a public transport agency that operates transit bus and rapid transit services in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1861 as the "Montreal City Passenger Railwa ...

(STM) that gives around 60 spots on a first-come, first-served basis, provided the musician-busker registers his name early enough as soon as the Metro opens to the public and returns during his assigned time to perform for an hour or two, amidst indifference from most passersby or, at times, a token word of encouragement.

External links

EyeSteelFilm page about ''Music for a Blue Train''NFB collections page for ''Music for a Blue Train''Excerpt of ''Music for a Blue Train'' at NFB.ca
(Requires

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) 2003 films English-language Canadian films Canadian musical documentary films EyeSteelFilm films National Film Board of Canada documentaries Montreal Metro Documentary films about Montreal Street performance Rail transport films 2003 documentary films 2000s Canadian films {{music-documentary-film-stub