Last Stop: A slow, rattling ride through Vienna

Is it worth the ticket?

Look, if you need a high-octane thriller to keep you awake, skip this one immediately. You will hate it. It moves exactly as fast as a trolley car in old Vienna. But if you have a soft spot for grainy, black-and-white romance that feels like leafing through an old photo album, then pull up a chair. It is sweet, a bit dusty, and refreshingly low-stakes.

There is something about the way this movie handles silence that I really enjoyed. Most modern films are so terrified of a quiet moment that they shove a loud soundtrack into every frame. Not here. You just get the rattling of the tracks and the occasional chatter of passengers who don't matter to the plot. It feels lived-in.

The hatmaker and the driver

Our main guy is just doing his job. He is a trolley worker, and he sees a lot of faces, but the hatmaker is the one who actually sticks. The chemistry isn't exactly fireworks, but it’s real in a way that feels like a Tuesday afternoon conversation. It reminded me a little of the small-scale drama you find in The Love Net, where the world feels small and manageable.

There is this one shot where they are just standing near the tram stop, and the light is hitting the sidewalk all weird. It lingers for a second too long, and for a moment, I forgot I was watching a movie. I was just standing there with them. It’s those tiny, unnecessary details that make a film stick in your head.

• The uniforms look like they’re made of extremely scratchy wool.
• The dialogue is mostly just polite bickering, which is honestly the most accurate part of any relationship.
• Hans Moser is in this, and he just steals every single frame he walks into.

It’s not perfect. Sometimes the pacing hits a wall, and the story just sort of meanders. It doesn't have the tension of Emergency Call, but maybe it doesn't need to. It is comfortable being a minor story about minor people. 🚋

I found myself wondering if anyone actually talks to their tram driver like that in real life. Probably not. But in the movie, it works. It’s a nice little escape if you just want to watch people be decent to each other for an hour or so.