本片讲述了冬捕开始前的七天里，发生在中国东北一座老工业城市的一个老人的故事。丈夫去世几年后，82岁的赵丽华患上了轻度抑郁症。她打算去职工浴池泡澡，却多次被拒之门外而且遭到羞辱。儿子朱红兵为了找到两个陪护母亲洗澡的女人费尽周折，一个看似简单的日常生活，摆在这对母子面前却显得异常地艰难。母亲最后也没实现在职工浴池泡澡的心愿，尽管她曾在这个工厂工作了一辈子。对于赵丽华而言，“泡澡”是洗礼一般的自我清洁，有尊严地“安乐”地离开，是她最后的选择……

一群叛逆的少年在春基（金秀贤饰）被妈妈送到了国外念书前一晚狂欢。几年后19岁的春基从国外回来，找到了当年住在一栋楼的老朋友们，但是怎么都开心不起来，大家似乎都变了。朋友们给春基办生日派对，可是大家似乎都不是真心的，春基觉得就仁善没有变，可是仁善也像其他女生一样想和春基发生什么。春基回去后和妈妈大吵一架，直到早上，仁善宿醉醒来发现楼上着火了。夏天也就这样过去了。

影片讲述了二十世纪末在中俄边境小城的一段往事。片名来源于一部苏联经典动画片，片中一名俄罗斯女歌手演唱了这首动画片的主题曲，击中了刚出狱的主人公，让他回忆起与旧爱相恋的岁月，于是他开始了寻找。《蓝色列车》仍把目光聚焦在八九十年代集体主义落幕、改革和市场大潮汹涌而来前的过渡时期，其浪漫和忧伤和《八月》一脉相承。

Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.