During the German occupation of France, a stage actress and co-proprietor (Catherine Deneuve) of a Paris theater hides her Jewish husband/co-owner/director in the cellar during the course of their latest production while she balances the precarious books and feels a romantic attraction to her new leading man (Gerard Depardieu), himself an active member of the Resistance. Francois Truffaut's The Last Metro is presented on a beautiful color palette with superb cinematography by Nestor Almendros but the lack of a palpable, immediate Nazi presence/threat makes the film less thrilling and complete than it should be. Deneuve is lovely and as beautiful as ever while Depardieu, though charismatic as always, is barely believable as a Resistance agent nor is their romance particularly nspired. The ending is clever but slight.
*** out of ****
