We go all foreign in the back half of February 1981
Verhoeven! Franklin! Truffaut! And... Gene Wilder?
Okay, I know this one’s late.
It happens sometimes, and I’m juggling a lot right now. But I don’t want you to think it will be a regular thing. This was just a tricky handful of titles to write about, and I’m hoping you’re happy with the end result.
There may not be many movies in today’s edition, but they’re all worth some conversation, so let’s jump right in…
FEBRUARY 20
The Last Metro
Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret, Andréa Ferréol, Paulette Dubost, Jean-Louis Richard, Sabine Haudepin, Maurice Risch, Heinz Bennent, Christian Baltauss, Pierre Belot, René Dupré, Aude Loring, Alain Tasma, Rose Thiéry, Jacob Wiezbluth, Jean-Pierre Klein, Renata Flores, Marcel Berbert, Hénia Suchar, László Szabó, Martine Simonet, Jean-José Richer, Jessica Zucman, Richard Bohringer, Franck Pasquier
cinematography by Néstor Almendros
music by Georges Delerue
scenario by François Truffaut & Suzanne Schiffman
dialogue by François Truffaut & Suzanne Schiffman and Jean-Claude Grumberg
produced by François Truffaut
directed by François Truffaut
Rated PG
2 hrs 11 mins
A French theater company attempts a grand deception as a way of protecting their Jewish director during WWII.
There are two warring forces at work in my own reaction to this film. First, there’s my deep admiration for the work of François Truffaut. Second, there is my near-total dislike of the work of Gérard Depardieu. Each equally strong, each based on plenty of opportunities to form those opinions, each weighing heavily on me as I watch.
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