“The Last Train From Paris” is set in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944. It tells the story of Jean-Luc and Natasha. Jean-Luc is a struggling French artist who hates the German occupants but remains largely in the dark of what all is going on, especially to the Jews in France. He considers chasing women more important than work, but grudgingly takes a job when his landlady tells him she badly needs his rent money. His mentor gets him a job apprenticing for Henri Matisse, painting the scenery for a ballet.
There he meets Natasha, the beautiful Russian ballerina. He wins her heart only to have a German officer fixate on her. The officer becomes more and more insistent and there is nothing Natasha can do without angering him and endangering both her and Jean-Luc’s lives. Soon the officer discovers Natasha’s secret and she becomes his prisoner. Jean-Luc is still set on freeing her and running away with her, and she knows she must take action to save his life. She tells the press, right in front of Jean-Luc, after her ballet performance that Jean-Luc’s work is that of an amateur and was not worthy of their ballet. Now without hope, she resigns herself to a life as the officer’s captive, fearful every day that he will send her away to Auschwitz.
Meanwhile a heartbroken Jean-Luc joins the French Resistance. He almost gets several of them killed when he hesitates to kill a teenage German soldier, but they find a better use for him. He joins another of the Resistance who is trying to save the art from the Louvre that is being stolen by the Nazis. When they get word that the Allies are on the way he resolves to fight for his country’s freedom, for the art that is being stolen by the Germans, and for Natasha.
I did like “The Last Train From Paris,” but it seemed like a redo of Moulin Rouge set during the war. He was just an artist instead of a writer, and she a ballerina instead of an actress. And she had no choice but to act like she was in love with the bad guy while the good guy tried to think of a way to sneak her away to marry her.
Regardless, it did keep my attention and the characters were well developed. The Resistance fighting was a change from the plot I was already familiar with and was a chance for Jean-Luc to grow up. While I was less than happy with the ending, it still ended well I’m sure others would argue.