The Last Metro
1980
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Few people have probably seen the monstrosity I was subjected to a couple months ago called The Traveling Players. The four hour long story followed a theater troupe around Greece as they performed shows during World War II. It was completely dull and awful. But The Last Metro is everything that film should have been.
During the occupation of Paris, the wife of a Jewish theater owner conceals her husband in the cellar as she attempts to put on a play to save the theater, acting as both the director and the lead actress. To do this, she must avoid arousing the suspicion of the Gestapo while not bruising any male egos. No easy feat. Her lead man, Bernard Granger, attracts her attention, despite the fact that he is a shameless womanizer.
I'll start by saying I really enjoyed this film, but for some reason my criticisms are coming to mind more than the movie's merits. For one thing, I wish the romance had been introduced earlier in the film. I knew there was a love triangle in this film, but there was forty minutes to go and I felt like the two leads had barely interacted. The ending too left a bit to be desired. I was really invested in the characters and wished that we knew more definitively what happened to them.
Still, like I said, I really did like this film. It was fascinating to watch these people still try to live their normal lives, even in such insane conditions. It made me wonder if they were heroic or just in denial. Also, Catherine Deneuve is everything.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
One of Truffaut's most profitable productions.
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