You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for the memories!

Strong and Moving!

Absolutely Fantastic

If a saw this film dozen I don't think I would be any the wiser as to what the director's intentions were. The French cinema has been a parlous state for some-while and it has survived in the main due to its ingenuity, Canal Plus and its utilisation of a never-ending conveyor belt of talented actors and writers. What the French cinema is most reluctant to do is to finance extensive film sets and 'The Last Metro' is no exception - even a 'brick wall' moved when leaned against! The scene is WW2, occupied France and a small Parisian theatre managed in the absence of her Jewish play-write husband by Film and stage actress Marion played by Deneuve. We very quickly learn that he hasn't fled France at all but is ensconced in the theatre's basement where he continues to write and direct in apparent secrecy, from everyone but his wife, listening to his productions through a chimney flue! Sounding implausible? Read on. Enter stage left Gerard Depardieu a dapper young leading man for the theatre's new production who, between learning his lines and trying to bed a lesbian co-worker (who writes this stuff?) starts acting furtively. Could our man be starting to give some meaning to this aimless exercise? Is he French resistance? Hooray, a stage prop, a record player purloined from the theatre is used in a Resistance bombing. Alas, don't hold your breathe expecting scenes of graphic carnage and dismembered Nazis. The producers no doubt rubbed their hands at the cost saving by simply having a radio broadcast announce the outrage. It doesn't get any better unfortunately and we are already past two hours. We are then treated to a five minute parody on the liberation of Paris - the film's only attempt at humour - before the final sequence where, with a play-within-a-play, the production at long last becomes imaginative. Too little too late I'm afraid. What were Deneuve and Depardieu thinking about when they signed up for this? And oh, the Last Metro? This refers to last Paris subway train to run at night before the curfew is enforced. Relevance to the film? Nothing in the slightest.

One criticism of this film is that it doesn't portray the German occupation with enough power. It is a film of little violence and a more subtle, restrained view of Paris during World War II. I have to believe that much of life went on during this time and this is a small cross section of that portrayal. The Germans sort of absorbed France and went about their business. Much of the horror goes on offstage, but the focus of the movie is what happens to a small theatre on a day to day basis. Catherine Deneuve is a woman who manages to pull something from her limited resources to maintain what she loves, including her husband who hides in the cellar of the theatre. She dominates the screen. Also, Gerard Depardieu is excellent as the young actor who works for the underground while those around him see him merely as a flippant letch. This has a lot of flaws, and perhaps a little trouble with verisimilitude, but it is an inspiring story of strength and endurance and is very enjoyable.

I kind of expected a "Paris under occupation" drama, but this wasn't it, it's more a mixed bag of goods. There isn't a lot of drama, actually, which makes this movie somewhat slow and tedious to watch.The plot: a celebrated Jewish-German theatre director (Heinz Bennent) fails to escape from occupied France, and has to hide in the cellar of his theatre in Montmartre. From down under, he directs another hit play, while his beautiful wife (Cathérine Deneuve) dotes on him. Nevertheless an affair develops between her and the male lead actor, played by Gérard Depardieu, but none of them seem to take it too serious (they're French, after all, except the German director, who seems to have gone native). There's a plethora of side stories, a French collaborateur movie critic, a Jewish girl and lots of lesbians and gays, but they all kind of amble along instead of leading up to something. It's all very farcical, and you never get the impression that anyone is suffering from the war and the occupation. And the eponymous métro is a no-show -- I don't know why Truffaut put it in the title as it has nothing to do with the movie.We probably all expect the director, Lucas Steiner, to be betrayed and to end up in concentration camp. This doesn't happen which makes the movie somewhat offbeat and optimistic, but also a bit pointless. Let's face it, despite this movie earning 10 Césars along rave professional reviews, it's not one of Truffaut's best. So I'd recommend this one mostly to Truffaut completists.

It is a strange feeling to read that many critics do not consider "Le Dernier Métro" as one of Truffaut's best films.This is absurd as Monsieur Truffaut was a cinéaste who considered all his films as equal.One is not sure as to how some harsh critics have considered this film as one of Truffaut's commercial projects.The truth of the matter is that Truffaut had always wanted to make a film about Nazism as he had experienced this vicious phenomenon as a young boy.It must be made clear that Truffaut did not make "Le Dernier Métro" in order to please critics,well wishers and admirers.As we talk of this film,it must be stated that "Le Dernier Metro" is an equivocal title for a Truffaut film.It is a title which denotes danger,uncertainty and utter chaos.This is because if one misses the last metro train there would be nothing but unpredictable hopelessness.For denizens of Paris during Nazi occupation time there were good chances that the last metro could be missed by many people who stayed out late nights for theatrical performances.Although this is a film about an artistic "ménage à trois",Le Dernier Métro deals with hidden sexualities of its different characters. It also talks of a restrained love affair which is dwarfed due to two lovers' arrogance. German occupation of Paris is shown in a light tone as there are no scenes of atrocities perpetrated by German soldiers. In this film we get an idea of how artists (cinema and theater) behave in a given set up.It also depicts cold critics who are able of destroy not only somebody's career but also an entire theater production house.Among the actors Andréa Ferréol is at her sensual best.Jean Poiret looks sleek too. The best thing about this film is German actor Heinz Bennent's performance as Lucas Steiner,a theater director who is fed up of his isolation.His character is similar to that of Marnie,a role played by Tippi Hedren in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Marnie".