While Desson Howe of the "Washington Post" called "Train of Life" a "less-than-scintillating spin on "Life Is Beautiful"", James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" found the film's comedy "too 'French' in nature — which is to say that it tends towards silliness and slapstick." Rob Blackwelder of SlicedWire (while not opposed to the idea of Holocaust tragicomedies in general) found each of the three films suffering from their distinct own flaws. Jim Sullivan of the "Boston Globe" (without mentioning "Jakob the Liar") found that it "works much better" than "Life Is Beautiful". Jean Oppenheimer of the "Dallas Observer" praised "Train of Life" as being "far superior to either" of the other two, and Henry Cabot Beck of "Film.com" went as far as comparing it to Spielberg's Academy Award-winning 1993 Holocaust drama, calling "Train of Life" "every bit as reverent as "Schindler's List" and no less successful" and contending about its two 1999 competitors that "neither film was as well directed or acted" as "Train of Life". Stefan Steinberg of the World Socialist Web Site claimed that "Train of Life" is "a far better film" than "Life Is Beautiful", being impressed by "the immense affection and care with which Mihaileanu has recreated the life and self deprecating humour of the Jewish villagers."