leethomas-11621 An almost perfect movie. Great screenplay and actors. The two stars are mesmerising.

dromasca 'Le Dernier Metro' is one of the last films Truffaut made, and I believe was the last that premiered during his life time. His period of innovating and revolutionizing the French cinema, breaking conventions and pushing ahead a new way of making movies and a new style of passing the message from director (the undisputed author of the film) and the viewers was behind him. Now he had the time (and not less important the money) to make the films that expressed him best. It is significant that one of the themes he chose to deal with in this final period of his life and creation (although he may not have been aware it's one of his final films) was the French Resistance and the Holocaust, more specifically the attitude of France and of the French people towards its Jewish population.The film tells the story of a classical triangle of lovers in the best French tradition. He (Heinz Bennent) is a famous stage director, she (fabulous Catherine Deneuve) is a beautiful actress and has just taken over the administration of the theater, the rival to her heart is the womanizing young star (Gerard Depardieu in one of his first great roles). The times are however not usual, director Lucas Steiner hides in the cave of his own theater because the year is 1942 and he is a Jew, deprived of any civil right, deprived of his property, deprived of the right to profess his vocation, and soon to be deprived of the right to live. While his wife and one or two close friends stand to hide and defend him, the whole system of the collaboration is after his person, his family life, and his physical life. The forbidden love will eventually be consumed only after the duty of honor in protecting the prosecuted is fulfilled. The story saves the French honor by showing that some stood up, but also makes quite clear that those were only a few.Some of the critics consider this film not to be one of Truffaut's best, they also point to the success it enjoyed (most successful of all his movies) and to the plethora of Cesar prizes it received. I respectfully differ. Success with the audiences is no sin, and if true emotion is passed to the viewers, if we viewers go out of the cinema hall and continue to care and think fondly about the characters then the movie in my view succeeded. There is a double love story between the woman and the two men in her life, but there is also another story of love and deep respect in this film - it is the love for theater, for the art that fought censorship during the war and kept alive the national pride and also the capability of getting together the audiences and making them resonate to human emotions and share hope. To some respect 'Le Dernier Metro' plays in Truffaut's cinematography the same role as 'The Pianist' plays in Polanski's career - a work apart with an important message and a sober but elaborated execution.

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.

FilmCriticLalitRao 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".