Tuesday, April 10, 2018

DAYBREAK (1939, FRANCE)

Jean Gabin and Jules Berry display varying degrees of masculinity
in Daybreak


"This prototype of film noir, from 1939, is both a grim feast of prewar French acting and a catalogue of French moods on the eve of disaster." –Richard Brody, The New Yorker, November 10, 2014

Prototype of film noir is pretty much my impression of this film too. It tells the story of a man who commits a crime which we see the events leading up to it told in flashback. Seeing the story told unfold this way adds an element of style to the film, even if one can argue that it might take away some of the suspense. Directed by Marcel Carne (Director of the wonderful Children of Paradise) and stars French film legend Jean Gabin (Pepe Le Moko, Le Grande Illusion).-C. Cox, 1001: A Film Odyssey

1 comment:

  1. Style over content, really. The story did not make a lot of sense, but the style is great and very forward,

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