BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

grantss Interesting, thought-provoking story of civilian life in wartime.Paris, 1942. With the Germans in control and her Jewish theatre producer-director husband on the run from them, an actress, Marion Steiner (played by Catherine Deneuve) is left with the task of running his theatre. She starts rehearsals for a new play, written by her husband, and hires a new director and a leading man, Bernard Granger (Gerard Depardieu). It's make or break, as a flop will see the theatre go bankrupt. This, with the Germans clamping down on everything and the city's biggest drama critic an anti-semite and Nazi pawn, means it's going to be tough. Meanwhile, (known to her) her husband is hiding in the cellar, and he can't help but offer suggestions on the finer details of the play...On the face of it, this sounds like the makings of a decent comedy, a farce parodying Nazism and the theatre. While it has its comical moments, The Last Metro is most definitely a drama, and a good one. Quite claustrophobic in the way the French people are forced to live their lives, but that would be accurate for a civilian population in wartime, especially in an occupied country.Has some interesting themes too, not least being the inanity of bigotry. There is a strong sense of perseverance, survival and "the show must go on". Catherine Deneuve sparkles in the lead role. Good work too from Gerard Depardieu as Bernard Granger. Solid supporting cast.On the negative side, is quite slow moving at times and there are some detours which didn't add anything to the plot. The conclusion feels quite rushed and there isn't a great profundity about it - it's more a wrap-up than anything else. The movie is more about the journey than the destination.

JoeKulik The Last Metro is really a pretty good film, especially considering some of the real stinkers that Truffaut tossed our way during his directorial career.All the physical elements of the film were superb. Excellent costumes. Excellent recreation of WWII Paris. Excellent period props.The acting by the whole cast was really good.The film displayed a subtle, yet well defined interaction of motivations between the characters. This is particularly significant since the setting of the film is in German occupied Paris during WWII, when Frenchmen didn't really know who they could trust.The lighting & the cinematography was very good, considering that the claustrophobic scene settings didn't allow for long shots or much opportunity for innovative camera maneuvers.In short, this is one film by Truffaut that comes close to justify the legendary lionization that he really doesn't deserve.

blanche-2 Set in occupied Paris, 1980's "The Last Metro" is about a theater trying to survive in wartime Paris. Lucas Steiner, the German manager and director of the theater, is said to have fled Paris and left his beautiful movie star wife (Deneuve) to run the place in his absence. What no one knows is that Steiner never left - he's hiding in the basement of the theater until Marion can arrange a safe passage for him to the free zone.Marion is unable to hire Jews in her theater and unbeknownst to her hires a very political man, Bernard Granger (Depardieu) as her leading man. The two fall for one another, but Marion doesn't act on her feelings because of her husband. Marion must put up with the anti-Semite critic Daxiat (Jean-Louis Richard), and when Bernard comes down on him for an insulting review, Marion is afraid the theater will be closed and washes her hands of him.This is a film about people living in trying times and attempting to survive and do the work they love while danger lurks everywhere. The photography is beautiful, and the film is done with great style and captures the '40s atmosphere beautifully. Deneueve is breathtakingly beautiful, but all of the faces are so much more interesting than one finds in an American film. A captivating movie - I loved every minute of it.

ikalafatis Le Dernier Metro is the portrait of a woman. An ageing, beautiful, authoritative, successful and famous actress caught in her own personal quagmire, and that of a strange historical era.It's 1942 and Paris screams under the German occupation. A quiet scream, at least as portrayed by Truffaut, where Parisiens go on living their everyday lives as close to normal as they can. The German element is of course ubiquitous, always lurking in the shadow of normality like an undiagnosed disease. The black market, the Jewish persecution, the curfew, the collaboration and the resistance, all are accepted as just another fact of life.The real threat though is the unknown. What will the war bring? How longer will it last? And yet, decency and normality go on being the bourgeois lifestyle of choice, simply because most don't know how to really survive without the city, without its theaters and fashion circles. Without this superficial normality.In the middle of this strangeness stands a woman disillusioned by her life. Deep inside, this poignantly beautiful, famous, smart and strong woman is empty. Torn between her professional and artistic duties that have increased dramatically since her Jew husband and theater chef fled to save his life, and her ageing femininity and her devoid of passion life, she revolves around the sole remaining centrepiece of her life, acting. Only acting proves to be just another lifeless remain of her previous life.Should she stay faithful to a husband that she stopped loving a long time ago? Do they both cling on to their failing relationship just for the sake of normality, to survive this strangeness of an era? Will tomorrow ever come, and if it comes will she be too old to enjoy it? Deneuve is perfection. The script has most probably been written with her in mind and it shows. Nowhere in the film is she caught relaxing, even in the most ambiguous moments her eyes are crisp clear on her intentions.Depardieu is solid but lacks the internal flame his character should possess, probably due to him being influenced by Deneuve's coldness.Poiret and Bennent are sublime in secondary but very important roles. Richard underplays his character's potential as a threat. The rest of the cast are adequate and in control of their roles.Truffaut delivers a quiet film with claustrophobic cinematography, low-budget sets, fabulous costumes and minimal music. Just like a real theatre show. The director's brilliance drives through the sharpness of the second World War with a fine comb and picks only what's relevant to the story, and nothing more. A film to admire, but not to be inspired from. And there lies probably the only fault of the film. The nouvelle vague has matured and settled down with a sigh.Watch this film just to experience the ferociously magnetic beauty and strength of Catherine Deneuve. Or if you really love theatre. Or both.