Le Train [The Last Train] **** (1973, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, Anne Wiazemsky, Serge Marquand, Maurice Biraud) – Classic Movie Review 7051

With its sour undertow of wartime and doomed love, director Pierre Granier-Deferre’s 1973 French-Italian World War Two drama film Le Train [The Last Train] is a moving, credible evocation of romance in a time of crisis, eloquently played and sharply written from a novel by Georges Simenon.

It tells a poignant tale of the doomed love of French family man Julien Maroyeur (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and German Jewish woman Anna Kupfer (Romy Schneider), who meet on a train while fleeing from the Nazis invading France in 1940, and meet again in 1943 when Trintignant’s character Julien faces the true test of his love.

Trintignant and Schneider are outstanding, giving memorable performances, confirming their statures as being among the great European film actors. It is a haunting movie.

Also in the cast are Anne Wiazemsky, Serge Marquand, Régine, Nike Arrighi, Franco Mazzieri, Roger Ibanez, Paul Amiot, Jean Lescot, Paul Le Person, Jean-Pierre Castaldi and Pierre Collet.

Le Train (also known as The Last Train or Noi Due Senza Domani), is directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, runs 100 minutes, is made by Capitolina and Lira, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Pierre Granier-Deferre (adaptation) and Pascal Jardin (adaptation and dialogue) and Sandro Continenza (co-adaptation), based on a novel by Georges Simenon, is shot in Eastmancolor by Walter Wottitz, is produced by Raymond Danon, is scored by Philippe Sarde, and is designed by Jacques Saulnier.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7051

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