The Last Metro

PG

Released Sep 17, 1980

2h 10m

Drama

List

88%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

80%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

When the Nazis occupy Paris, Jewish theater owner Lucas Steiner (Heinz Bennent) goes into hiding in the cellar, ceding control of the theater to his gentile wife, Marion (Catherine Deneuve). She mounts a new play, and gives a break to upstart actor Bernard Granger (Gérard Depardieu) by casting him in the lead. The two soon develop feelings for one another, and she is torn between the two men. Things grow ever more complicated when Marion discovers that Bernard is harboring a secret of his own.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

You find yourself wondering what it was in Truffaut that ever appealed to you. It seemed to be something genuine, and now it seems lost.

May 6, 2017

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Truffaut balances his hopeful plot on a tightrope of coincidences and narrow escapes that horrifically suggest the abyss that engulfed so many men and women of the artistic and political underground. In French.

Mar 21, 2011

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

Slant Magazine

As a portrait of a time, Last Metro is a warmly performed and deftly shot trifle.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 24, 2009

Full Review

Andrea Loewenstein

Gay Community News (Boston)

I was able to be happily swept away by the story without having to abandon my political ideals, sexual or ethnic identity or my better judgment.

Sep 8, 2022

Full Review

Scott Sublett

Washington Blade

The Last Metro is a romantic delight: a full-bodied, gentle, passionate cross between Casablanca and Day for Night. It is also an inspiring (but not preachy) indictment of anti-Jewish and anti-homosexual cruelty.

May 23, 2022

Full Review

Rodrigo Cerna Chávez

Konexión (MX)

...magnificent photography. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Apr 3, 2018

Full Review

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Roger J

Very good, well crafted and descriptive of the times.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Sue C

Too long, with an ambiguous ending, but Catherine Deneuve & Gerard Depardieu never looked better.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

William L

If you hadn't told me that The Last Metro was directed by Truffaut, I wouldn't have guessed it; the film doesn't really carry many of the hallmarks of the well-loved director's more immediately recognizable works, but I suppose if he was too committed to the stylings of the French New Wave people would have called him rigid. Apparently the German occupation and French Resistance were very personal subjects for the director, and Truffaut had sought to make a film using the setting for several years. That makes it somewhat confusing that the narrative plays out the way it does, with a rather restrained love triangle providing melodramatic padding to a German occupation that feels less threatening than inconvenient. The most interesting aspect is the role of theatre and film not so much as art but as a lifestyle for those that create it, a political tool, and a respite for all in times of conflict and happiness alike; it's just not always easy to appreciate the romance of the stage when the emotional weight between characters packs so little punch. Certainly not bad, but not at the same level as the director's more famous work. (3/5)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/10/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty disappointing Truffaut film. A very slow film that takes a long time to pick up any steam. The plot is interesting and there is some tension in the final act but I found the film to become quite boring especially the basement scenes. Nowhere near as good as Truffaut's Day For Night but it is passable. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture at the Oscars that year and, while I haven't seen the other nominees, I doubt they were worse than this film.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excellent fictional history of occupied Paris and communities trying to survive. Attention to detail in story and cinematography

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Led by outstanding performances from leads Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, Truffaut's tribute to the performing arts in times of adversity is universal and timeless.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

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François Truffaut

Director

Catherine Deneuve

Marion Steiner

Gérard Depardieu

Bernard Granger

Jean Poiret

Jean-Loup Cottins

Heinz Bennent

Lucas Steiner

Andréa Ferréol

Arlette Guillaume

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Synopsis

When the Nazis occupy Paris, Jewish theater owner Lucas Steiner (Heinz Bennent) goes into hiding in the cellar, ceding control of the theater to his gentile wife, Marion (Catherine Deneuve). She mounts a new play, and gives a break to upstart actor Bernard Granger (Gérard Depardieu) by casting him in the lead. The two soon develop feelings for one another, and she is torn between the two men. Things grow ever more complicated when Marion discovers that Bernard is harboring a secret of his own.

Director: François Truffaut
Screenwriter: François Truffaut, Suzanne Schiffman, François Truffaut, Suzanne Schiffman, Jean-Claude Grumberg
Distributor: United Artists Classics, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Gaumont
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: French (France)
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Runtime: 2h 10m
Sound Mix: Mono

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