127. Le Jour Se Leve (Daybreak) (1939)

Directed By Marcel Carne


Synopsis

A man murders another man, in a series of flashbacks we understand why... jealousy SHOCK!

Review

Jean Gabin leads the cast of this film, and like in any film with Jean Gabin until now, he is nothing less than flawless. He isn't a pretty man, but he does have that star power quality that you really can't take your eyes off him. His penchant for tragic characters quite helps with the fascination of Gabin. For the reason alone that it is another flawless performance by Jean Gabin this film is worth watching.

Now let's get to the meat of the film. The idea of a film composed of a series of flashbacks has been done to exhaustion later, but here in 1939 it still looks very fresh. It does, however suffer and benefit from the fact that we already know what is going to happen. It keeps you glued to the screen because you want to know the story of the love square but it doesn't pay off immensely because the cause isn't that spectacular.

Still it is a perfectly shot film, where all actors play their parts flawlessly, a particular nod to the guy who plays the dog trainer... it is hard to come across so dodgy and slimy on screen without ever falling into parody or stereotype. Unfortunately you can't get this film in the UK... so download it in French and find subtitles in English somewhere on the internet. Our American viewers are luckier because you can get it here.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In 1952, the film was included in the first Sight and Sound top ten greatest films list. The film was remade as The Long Night (1947) with Henry Fonda in the Gabin role.

Excerpts from the film: