The Last Train | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Joseph Vilsmaier, Dana Vávrová |
Produced by | Artur Brauner |
Written by | Stephen Glantz |
Starring |
Gedeon Burkhard Lale Yavas Lena Beyerling |
Cinematography |
Helmfried Kober Joseph Vilsmaier |
Edited by | Uli Schön |
Production
company |
Central Cinema Company Film (CCC), Diamant Film
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Distributed by | Bontonfilm |
Release date
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Running time
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123 minutes |
Country | Germany Czech Republic |
Language |
German Hebrew Polish French Ukrainian |
Budget | €2.7 million |
The Last Train (German: Der letzte Zug) is a 2006 German film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier and Dana Vávrová, and starring Gedeon Burkhard, Lale Yavas, and Lena Beyerling. The film depicts the fate of some of the last remaining Jews in Berlin, who in April 1943 were rounded up at the Berlin-Grunewald station and sent to the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. 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.
Der letze Zug was filmed in Germany and Czech Republic 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. It was widely released in theaters in Germany on November 9, 2006, by The Central Cinema Company