Why I'm obsessed with the shoes in Le métro (1934)

Is it worth a watch?

If you have ten minutes and you like the idea of 1934 Paris looking like a frantic, flickering ghost town, then yes. If you need a plot or characters you can actually name, you are going to hate this.

It’s a short film, but it feels like it’s vibrating. There is no story, just the clatter of the tracks and a bunch of people who seem very late for work.

I watched this on a Tuesday morning while drinking cold coffee. It felt like the right mood.

The directors, Georges Franju and Henri Langlois, basically invented the way we save old movies. But here, they just look like two guys with a camera who are obsessed with ankles.

Seriously, the amount of footage of feet in this movie is kind of funny. You see socks, scuffed leather boots, and high heels all clicking up and down those stone stairs.

It’s like they wanted to capture the exhaustion of being a human in a city. Everyone is moving fast, fast, faster, but nobody is really getting anywhere important.

The contrast is what stuck with me. You have these heavy, silent stone tunnels that look like they’ve been there forever.

Then you have the iron bridges that look like giant skeletons. The train just zips through them like it’s trying to escape the frame.

The editing is... well, it’s a bit messy. Some cuts happen so fast you might blink and miss a whole platform.

It doesn't feel polished like The Merry Widow which came out the same year. That movie feels like a "production," while Le métro feels like a secret someone recorded on the way home.

I love how the light flickers in the tunnels. It’s that old-school film grain that makes everything look like it’s underwater or made of dust.

There’s a shot of a woman’s shoes that lingers just a second too long. It makes you wonder who she was and if her feet hurt in those heels.

Things I noticed while watching:

• The stairs look incredibly steep and slippery.
• 1930s fashion was mostly just heavy coats and hats even when it looked humid.
• The metro cars look like literal tin cans on wheels.
• There is a specific rhythm to the doors opening that feels like a heartbeat.

Sometimes the camera just sits on the floor. It’s a weird angle, but it works because it makes the station look huge.

It’s much more chaotic than something like I.F.1 ne répond plus. That one has this technical, cold feel, but the the metro film is just sweaty and loud (even when it’s silent).

I think the movie gets better if you stop trying to understand it. Just let the black and white shapes wash over you.

It’s only nine minutes long. You can spare nine minutes to see what Paris looked like before the world went to hell a few years later.

One guy in the background looks directly at the camera for a split second. He looks annoyed.

I like that. It feels real. It’s not a "cinematic experience," it’s just a Tuesday in 1934.

The way the train comes out of the dark into the light is pretty cool. It’s simple, but it works every time.

Anyway, go watch it if you're into textures. Skip it if you're sleepy. 🚋