''The Last Train'' (german: Der letzte Zug) is a 2006 German film directed by

Joseph Vilsmaier Joseph Vilsmaier (, 24 January 1939 – 11 February 2020) was a German film director who began his career as a technician and cameraman. He is internationally known for films such as ''Comedian Harmonists (film), Comedian Harmonists''. Life Bo ...

and

Dana Vávrová Dana Vávrová (; 9 August 1967 – 5 February 2009) was a Czech-German film actress and director. She was one of the most popular German actresses throughout 1980s and early 1990s. After her role in Herbstmilch as Anna Wimschneider in 1989, she ...

, and starring

Gedeon Burkhard Gedeon Burkhard (born 3 July 1969) is a German film and television actor. Although he has appeared in numerous films and TV series in both Europe and the US, he is probably best recognised for his role as Alexander Brandtner in the Austrian/German ...

Lale Yavas Lale or Laleh may refer to: Geography * Laleh, Iran, a village in Kurdistan Province, Iran *Lale, Bulgaria, a village in Southern Bulgaria Given names Lale * Lale Akgün (born 1953), Turkish-German politician (SPD) * Lale Andersen (1905–1972), ...

, and Lena Beyerling. The film depicts the fate of some of the last remaining Jews in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, who in April 1943 were rounded up at the

Berlin-Grunewald station Berlin-Grunewald is a railway station in the upper class Grunewald district of Berlin. It is served by the S-Bahn line . In the Second World War, the station was the principal location for deporting Berlin Jews to the East during The Holocaust. ...

and sent to the

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. The film stands out due to its proximity as well as the unsparing realism with which the brutality of a transport to the Auschwitz concentration camp appears.

Casting

, Henry Neumann *

, Lea Neumann * Lena Beyerling, Nina Neumann *

Sibel Kekilli Sibel Kekilli (born 16 June 1980) is a German actress. She gained public attention after starring in the 2004 film '' Head-On''. She won two Lolas, the most prestigious German film awards, for her performances in ''Head-On'' and ''When We Leave ...

, Ruth Zilbermann * Roman Roth, Albert Rosen * Brigitee Grothum, Gabrielle Hellman * Hans-Jürgen Silbermann, Jakob Noschik * Sharon Brauner, Erika Friedlich *

Juraj Kukura Juraj Kukura (born 15 March 1947, in Prešov) is a Slovak actor. Kukura studied acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU). Since 1985, when he emigrated to West Germany, his films were banned in the Czechoslovak Socialist ...

, Dr. Friedlich *

Ludwig Blochberger Ludwig Blochberger (born 3 December 1982) is a German actor. He is best known for his appearance in the coming of age movie '' Summer Storm'' dealing with issues around sexual orientation. He also appeared on German TV drama programmes including ...

, Crewes

Background

''Der letze Zug'' was filmed in Germany and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and went into production in May 2005 on a budget of €2.7 million. During filming, director Joseph Vilsmaier fell from a crane and suffered permanent, albeit minor, injuries. Production halted for two weeks while he was hospitalized. Filming resumed once Vilsmaier recovered, but his wife, actress Dana Vávrová took over directing duties while Vilsmaier supervised. The film premiered on May 20, 2006 at the 40th

Hof International Film Festival The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 f ...

. It was widely released in theaters in Germany by The Central Cinema Company on November 9, 2006, the 68th anniversary of

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

Reception

Eddie Cockrell of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

stated it had "erratic production values and one-dimensional characterizations" and it is "destined for specialty fests and undiscerning cablers, with solid ancillary classroom use".

References

External links

Website at Concorde-Film
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Train 2006 2006 films Czech drama films Films directed by Joseph Vilsmaier 2000s German-language films Films shot in Cologne Films shot in Berlin Films about Jews and Judaism Films about Nazi Germany Films set in Germany Holocaust films German prison films 2000s German films