Daybreak
1939 · Movie · 93 min · ★ 7.6 · 87% critics
After a killing, a troubled worker barricades himself in his room while the police wait outside. As the night stretches on, he looks back on the tangled relationships, bad choices, and mounting pressure that pushed him toward a desperate act.
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Streaming on The Criterion Channel — or rent from $3.99.
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Details
- Original title
- Le jour se lève
- Years
- 1939
- Release date
- 1939-06-09
- Language
- French
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Critic score
- 87/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (253 votes)
About
If you like moody, tragic French dramas such as Port of Shadows or Pépé le Moko, this offers tense emotion and a strong sense of fate; Not for you if you need brisk pacing or clear-cut character motives.
Pros: haunting atmosphere; strong lead performance; compelling flashback structure | Cons: slow pacing; muddled relationships; some plot gaps
Themes
- jealousy
- romance
- flashback
- film noir
- murder
- french noir
- dog trainer
- police standoff
Cast & crew
Jean Gabin
as François
Jacqueline Laurent
as Françoise
Jules Berry
as M. Valentin
Arletty
as Clara
Mady Berry
as La concierge
René Génin
as Le concierge
Arthur Devère
as M. Gerbois
René Bergeron
as Le patron du café
Bernard Blier
as Gaston
Germaine Lix
as La chanteuse
Directed by Marcel Carné