A critical and popular success, this film achieved the feat not only of winning ten Césars, but also of obtaining the five most prestigious Césars. It can be seen streaming on Netflix.
Since the 1980s, this record has been unmatched. As the 49th César ceremony takes place on Friday February 23, 2024 live from the Olympia, let’s return to this film which made history by not only winning ten Césars (a record equaled by a single film), but which also plus won the five most prestigious awards of the evening (best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor and best actress). A feat that has not been accomplished by any other film since.
Directed by François Truffaut, The last metro was released in 1980. The plot takes place during the Nazi Occupation in Paris, in September 1942. The setting is mainly that of a theater, the Montmartre theater, which a renowned actress must direct in place of her husband , a German Jew wanted by the Gestapo. Officially, the latter has taken refuge in America, but he is in reality hidden in the basement of the theater, where he listens to the rehearsals and gives his instructions to his wife. However, he will understand that his wife is falling in love with the young leader of the troop, who wishes to join the Resistance.
In the casting, these are the big names of French cinema that we find in The last metro. Catherine Deneuve (Beautiful day, The umbrellas of Cherbourg) plays the main role opposite Gérard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac), Heinz Bennent, Jean Poiret (The crazy cage) or Andréa Ferréol (Feast). This role offers Catherine Deneuve the first César of her long career. She won a second in 1993 (for Indochina).
The film will be a critical but also popular success, since it achieved 3.3 million admissions in France. In 1981, The last metro carried out a real raid on the Caesars : he won the five major prizes, but also five other prizes (best original music, best decor, best photography, best sound, best editing). A single film accumulates so many statuettes : it is Cyrano de Bergeracwhich also has 10 statuettes (but only three of the five so-called major ones).
The last metro is a true classic of the French seventh art that can be watched now in streaming. The film is available on Netflix to all its subscribers, but also via certain premium subscriptions on MyCanal and Prime Video. The feature film is also available for purchase or rental on VOD.