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| The Last Train |
A major departure for director Joseph Vilsmaier (
The Comedian Harmonists,
Stalingrad), who teamed with wife Dana Vávrová and the legendary Berlin producer Artur Brauner (
Europa, Europa) to bring this uncompromising story to the screen.
It is 1943 and the war is near its height. In Berlin, almost 70,000 of the city's Jews have been deported and the last transports are set to embark in April. For 688 of Berlin's remaining Jews, this chilling reality haunts their daily lives.
Summoned by the Gestapo to Platform 17 of the infamous Grünewald Station, they are crammed into crowded wagons and sent on a harrowing journey. Some will try to escape and save themselves, others not.
Concurrently, another set of stories about the families' previous lives is told in flashback, standing in stark counterpoint to the encroaching catastrophe.
First shown at this year's Berlin, Cannes and Jerusalem film festivals,
The Last Train is a powerful story of people trying to outrun the mælstrom of history.
