4/5 Bruised People, Poetic Realism, Doomed Love
  by Gerard D. Launay (Berkeley, California)
There is always more beneath the surface of a Marcel Carne film. It's all in the details such as the shots of a one-eared teddy bear in the attic reflecting the hurt of the man about to be terrorized by the police. This movie - a precursor of film noir - begins almost at the end when an honest laborer, beaten down by the system, kills another man out of passion and has to hide in an attic until the police finally break down the door..at daybreak. (French law provided that the police could not enter until dawn). The story of the events leading to this dark ending is told in flashback. There is an eerie sense of dread everywhere. For example the hero (or shall I say anti-hero) works as a sandblaster in a factory and when he works, he is sealed in a cold suit of metal...all the while dark, demonic shadows abound or sulfurous fumes escape. In the same scene, a flower girl arrives but loses the freshness of her plants because of the smoke.

Made in 1939, the film is also a warning to France which was on the eve of war with Fascist Germany and itself holed itself up - in isolation - until the inevitable disaster. (The Vichy government which collaborated with the Nazis forbade the showing of the film0.

As in so many of the great Marcel Carne films, the director is obsessed with doomed love. In those dark, edgy days leading up to the war, it must have seemed to Marcel Carne that happiness, while precious, is short lived - always on the verge of being snuffed out callously.

I cannot fault the pitch perfect, sad performance of Jean Gabin. Watch his eyes as he awaits his inevitable doom. Gabin - as Francois - portrays a sympathetic, bruised man. He loves an orphan perhaps because he himself was an orphan.

Of all Marcel Carne films, "Le Jour se Leve" is his most compelling metaphor for the impending disaster awaiting France. Poetic realism indeed.



4/5 Carné gave eloquent voice to a mood of fatalistic, romantic pessimism...
  by Roberto Frangie (Leon, Gto. Mexico)
In the late '30s and early '40s, the films of Marcel Carné gave eloquent voice to a mood of fatalistic, romantic pessimism... After the war, however, his career was a sad shadow of its former self...

Central to Carné and Prévert's conception of doomed love was Jean Gabin's proletarian antihero, trapped in darkened rooms and foggy streets while awaiting retribution for crimes he barely knew he might commit: in "Quai des Brumes," Gabin's deserter comes violently up against local gangsters in a battle over the girl with whom he has fallen suddenly, passionately in love; in "Le jour se Léve," surrounded by police but unable to contemplate surrender, he recalls the events leading to his shooting of a girlfriend's seducer...

Widely described as poetic realism, Carné's style is in fact anything but realist; the squalor, shadows, and smoky bars all externalize the hero's melancholy resignation to an unjust Destiny... Without Carné's expert control of atmosphere, the effect might seem merely picturesque, for rarely have solitude, alienation and death been imbued with such elegance and beauty...



5/5 Groundbreaking movie
  by Randy Keehn (Williston, ND United States)
In 1952, "Sight and Sound" presented their first Top Ten poll of the best movies of all time. Coming in a tie for 7th place was "Le Jour se Leve". As the 20th Century drew to a close, movie fans were given a treat in the form of the book "The New York Times Guide to the 1000 Best Movies ever Made". The book omitted movies from the silent era but was quite receptive to foreign-language films. Yet the book did not list "Le Jour se Leve" as one of it's top 1000 films. How does a movie go from top 10 to missing inclusion in the top 1000? Perhaps "Le Jour se Leve" cam claim the title of being, simultaneously, the most over-rated and under-rated movie of all time. Personally, I liked the movie when I saw it last night but I debated about giving it a 5 Star rating.

"Le Jour se Leve" is the story of a murder that strips away any semblance of suspense by giving the audience the victim and the murderer in the opening scene. It doesn't take much longer to clarify the motive as well. The movie's greatness is telling a love story within the context of our knowing its' extreme outcome from the start. This approach gives the audience a unique focus on each and every step of the developing romances as the films goes through a number of flashbacks. The main character is an easy-going laborer who stumbles into a relationship with a young woman. There is another man and that leads to another woman all of which we pickup on in successive flashbacks. There are a couple of minor twists that we don't see coming but the movie is very up-front with the plot.

"Le Jour se Leve" emerges into an intense romantic drama that develops the main characters in a method of excellance that was the likely reason for its' "Sight and Sound" Top Ten rating. The characters are of varying complexity and the talented cast, led by Jean Gabin, is outstanding. The direction by Marcel Carne is the key to the whole film. I could not recall a scene that didn't add to the movie's impact. This movie suffers from the key to its' own success; its' predictability. Once I understood that, I was able to appreciate its' excellence but I can't fault anyone who thought otherwise. "Le Jour se Leve" doesn't make my Top Ten but it certainly makes the top 1000 with plenty of room to spare.

4/5 When "Day" Is Done
  by Alex Udvary (chicago, il United States)
As I watch the films of Marcel Carne I sit there and I'm amazed. How could someone be so blessed with talent? How do some people become so fortunate?

Carne is without question one of the greatest filmmakers that ever lived. I've only seen a small handful of his films, but, I don't need to see that much to recognize his genuis. Both of his films "Children of Paradise" and "Port of Shadows" rank among my all time favorite films. And "Daybreak" is just as good.

"Daybreak" actually has something in common with "Children of Paradise". Both films are anti-war parables. In fact, I think "Daybreak" does a better job of presenting its views.

Francois (Jean Gabin) has just killed a man, Valentin (Jules Berry) in a crime of passion. Both men were in love with Francoise (Jacqueline Laurent). The film then takes place in flashbacks as we see how Francois and Francoise meet and eventually fall in love. We also learn how Francois and Valentine meet and what leads to Valentine's ultimate faith.

After killing the man Francois locks himself in his room so the police cannot get him. He has now isolated himself from the world. At this point I should point out the film was made in 1939. World War 2 was on the horizon. Supposedly this film was released before the war started, but, people of Europe knew war was on the way.

When we look at the film from this context "Daybreak" is more than a story of doomed love. The film argues evil is on the way and in a world filled with hate and violence there is no room for love. And without love, we cannot survive. Lets also remember America did not enter the war at the beginning. Does Francois' action of isolationism reflect this country's stance on the war?

The movie was based on a story by Jacques Viot and written by Jacques Prevent, who also worked on "Children of Paradise". Prevent and Carne were quite a team. Their work together dwells deep into the conscience of the times. These films; "Port of Shadows", "Children of Paradise" and this film, are making social arguments in the most subtle of way but by the time the film is over, the effect is not only powerful but lasting.

Marcel Carne's films seem to be difficult to find in this country. I'm going to search though. With three movies he has turned me into a strong, devoted fan of his work. If you haven't seen any of his films I strongly suggest you do. And it doesn't matter where you start. Watch whatever you can find from him. In the end you'll realize, as I have, Carne is a master.

Bottom-line: A strong anti-war film that deserves to be compared to Carne's "Children of Paradise". Both films dwell deep into the public's conscience of the world around them. A powerful film!

5/5 Gabin the Great
  by Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA)

It begins with an argument behind closed doors, a gun shot, and then a man staggering out, falling down the stairs to his death. Behind the door is Jean Gabin, who now barricades himself in his room to keep the police at bay. We are then shown three flashbacks which explain how he got where he is now. Two of the flashbacks concern women he has loved, the third is about the sleazebucket Valentin (played by Jules Barry) who is also in love with one of them. It's Barry who comes to Gabin's apartment to get Gabin to stay away, and it's Barry who is shot by Gabin. (Barry is reminiscent of Clifton Webb in LAURA - the old lecher in love with a young beauty.) The composition of the film is poetic and beautiful, and the acting is very well done. The initial meeting between Gabin and his love Francoise in her house is exquisitely handled by both. It's a very romantic, stylish movie - a true classic in world cinema.