The Last Chance
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
This review is a part of the Palme d’Or Project: a review of every single Palme d’Or winner at Cannes Film Festival. This is a Grand Prix winner: what the Palme d’Or was originally called before 1955. The Last Chance won for the 1946 festival and was tied with ten other films.
The film was selected by the following jury.
Jury President: Georges Huisman.
Jury: Iris Barry, Beaulieu, Antonin Brousil, J.H.J. De Jong, Don Tudor, Samuel Findlater, Sergei Gerasimov, Jan Korngold, Domingos Mascarenhas, Hugo Mauerhofer, Filippo Mennini, Moltke-Hansen, Fernand Rigot, Kjell Stromberg, Rodolfo Usigli, Youssef Wahby, Helge Wamberg.
In the 40s, once World War II was finally wrapped up, you were getting every nation's cinematic perspective of the carnage that dominated Earth for the last six-or-so years. The Last Chance, by Leopold Lindtberg, was one of Switzerland's filmic answers: a tale of escaped prisoners of war. To add authenticity, and perhaps to spotlight veterans for their service, the film cast John Hoy and Ewart G. Morrison: two actual POWs that had escaped and found refuge in Switzerland. And then there they were telling their story for the world to see on the big screen. Some kudos tossed at Switzerland for being a neutral haven? Perhaps, but who wouldn't want to share that their country saved lives during a time of mass murder? Besides, there is something poetic realism here: men who lived to share their story in one of the biggest ways possible.
The film itself is more or less what you would find in a standard 40s war film: strong filmmaking and a huge focus on bringing the terrors of combat to life. What makes The Last Chance stand a little taller is that it's focus on its central characters allows you to really connect with those that are going through hell and back. There's a story of resilience and perseverance here, and it isn't tossed in just for our benefit. The story is shaped around this quest to survive and stay alive. Of course, this has still been done before and after in anti-war films, but how many of them have actual survivors that can reenact their trips to safety? Not many. The Last Chance may not have many upper hands on other war films, but it definitely has this fantastic use of casting.
The Last Chance features actual survivors of World War II to tell the tale of courage amidst carnage.
Other noteworthy elements include the use of many languages to show the barricades of moving through and to new territories without guidance. The events that go on in the film seem precise enough that we are going through the actual daily routines of those that served their countries. The Last Chance is full of little details like this where you may not be getting the biggest picture of war, but you're receiving something far more intimate. As a result, the action and danger feels more immediate. I'm not sure if The Last Chance will linger with you as long as stronger films within the same genre, because of its dialled-in nature, but it will succeed in affecting you while it is on. Not many war films feel this personal, and it's an interesting angle to see during a time where the horrors of war were being told as largely as possible.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.