The Last Metro

Francois Truffaut, one of the great directors of the French New Wave cinema of the 50s and 60s, has directed at least 20 films. In "The Last Metro", Heinz Bennett is cast as Lucas Steiner, the director of a small theatre who is forced to hide in a cellar for years during the French Occupation. Catherine Deneuve, as his wife, takes over the running of the theatre, which survives through the crew's ability to transfer its skills from the make-believe world of theatre to the "real" world of Nazi oppression and ruthlessness. This book provides a biographical sketch of Truffaut. It details the history of the Vichy government and of French cinema in relation to this critical period. An essay explains the film's many allusions to theatre and film and shows its special place in the context of the rest of Truffaut's work.