THE LAST METRO Movie Review
Le Dernier Metro
In Nazi-occupied Paris, an acclaimed theatre director (Heinz Bennent) hides in the basement of his theatre, knowing that his German-Jewish heritage will cost him his life if he's discovered. Above ground, his beautiful wife (Catherine Deneuve) keeps productions running while dealing both personally and professionally with the theatre's daily trials, which include the company's intriguing new leading man (Gérard Depardieu).The movie is a romantic fantasy about theatrical troupers—a group of show-business professionals from different economic, social, and cultural backgrounds who share the common passion of their trade/art—and how they stick together under extreme circumstances. What hurts the effectiveness of the film's melodramatic plot is that those extreme circumstances just happen to be the Occupation. The lyrically romantic tone that Truffaut is after here is sabotaged by our own knowledge of the period; it's not what he leaves out—it's what we automatically bring in. Knowing how enthusiastically so many French citizens turned in other French citizens, we naturally fear the worst. When that doesn't happen we don't feel the elation we're supposed to experience—we may instead feel we've fallen prey to a well-meaning but unconvincing sleight-of-hand routine. You wonder during the movie's happy ending if others seeing the film are going to naively think that every sophisticated Parisian was hiding a Jew in his basement. (It doesn't help that The Sorrow and the Pity had already enlightened us about French complicity in the war years.) For me such unavoidable thoughts dampened—but didn't completely sink—The Last Metro's many real pleasures. We bring a lot with us to movies—even when they're fairy tales—but sometimes too much carry-on baggage is enough to prevent a light vehicle from ever taking off. Academy Award Nominee, Best Foreign Language Film.
NEXT STOP … Europa, Europa, Commissar, Au Revoir les Enfants
1980 135m/C FR Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Heinz Bennent, Jean-Louis Richard, Jean Poiret, Andrea Ferreol, Paulette Dubost, Sabine Haudepin; D: Francois Truffaut; W: Suzanne Schiffman; C: Nestor Almendros; M: Georges Delerue. Cesar Awards '81: Best Actor (Depardieu), Best Actress (Deneuve), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Director (Truffaut), Best Film, Best Sound, Best Writing, Best Score; Nominations: Academy Awards '80: Best Foreign-Language Film. VHS, LV HMV, FOX, SWC