The Last Train (2006)
"Der letzte Zug" (original title)

A group of people are imprisoned in a rail car bound from Berlin to a concentration camp in 1945.

Directors:

Joseph Vilsmaier, Dana Vávrová

Writers:

Artur Brauner (story), Stephen Glantz (screenplay)

Stars:

Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Yavas, Lena Beyerling

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gedeon Burkhard	...	Henry Neumann
Lale Yavas	...	Lea Neumann
Lena Beyerling	...	Nina Neumann
Sibel Kekilli	...	Ruth Zilbermann
Roman Roth	...	Albert Rosen
Brigitte Grothum	...	Gabrielle Hellmann
Hans-Jürgen Silbermann	...	Jakob Noschik
Sharon Brauner	...	Erika Friedlich
Juraj Kukura	...	Dr. Friedlich
Ludwig Blochberger	...	Crewes
Vojtech Kotek	...	Izzy Perles (as Vojta Kotek)
Csongor Kassai	...	Avram Perles
Magdalena Sidonová	...	Sylvia Perles
Nina Divísková	...	Rosa Wasserstein
Stanislav Zindulka	...	Samuel Wasserstein

Storyline

The year is 1943 and the "last of the Jews" are being "evacuated" from Berlin. They are locked in cattle cars with no food and little water. During the trip several of the characters are drawn out and vignettes of their lives are highlighted to restore some humanity to their animal existence aboard the train. The suffering and agony is palpable. Some parts can be watched in double speed as they are just just filler. If you exclude the final theatrical device thrown in at the end, the movie is worth watching for it's historical relevance.

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Plot Keywords:

jew | holocaust | racism | loss of loved one | nazi officer | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

Germany Czech Republic

Language:

German Hebrew Polish French Ukrainian

Release Date:

9 November 2006 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Last Train

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Diamant Film, Perathon Film-und Fernsehproduktions GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming, director Joseph Vilsmaier fell out of a crane three meters up while shooting. He was hospitalized, but he recovered and resumed filming, with mild permanent injuries.

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Goofs

When they are in the train station in Berlin, a woman panics and begins to sing Di Partizaner Lid. First off, it's a Yiddish song, and German Jews were notorious for not speaking Yiddish; also, it was a song written/sung by the Jewish Partisans of the Vilna Ghetto, and would not have been known in Berlin until after the Shoah.

User Reviews

The Best Nazi Atrocities Depiction next to The Pianist and Shindler

Having seen so many of these movies (one can never get enough of the Nazi nightmare can it), I must say that this one hits particularly hard. In an attempt to rid Berlin of all Jews the vary last of them are summoned up and uploaded to a train that is Auschwitz bound (Question- if you are a Jew in it's 1943 in Berlin (For God's sake, Hitler was just a few block away) what are you doing living in the open like everything was normal? why aren't you hiding or better yet why didn't you leave and go somewhere safe). This is not just a holocaust film, it is much more then that, it is a character study of both Jews, Ukrainians, Nazis and "Good Germans" all encased in a story that although is hard to watch is a piece of art that will make you sad and pensive.