Le Jour se lève (Daybreak)

Le Jour se lève (Daybreak) (1939)

  • 88% of critics liked it
    (8 reviews)

  • 52% want to see it
    (608 ratings)

Marcel Carne and Jacques Prevert's classic of French poetic realism stars Jean Gabin in one of his most famous roles as Francois, a rough, barrel-chested loner who hides out in his apartment awaiting for the police to arrive. Francois has killed a man in a crime of passion, the slimy lothario… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Genres
Drama, Art House & International, Classics

Critic Reviews

  • Tom Milne, Time Out

    Possibly the best of the Carné-Prévert films, certainly their collaboration at its most classically pure.

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    The pity of it all seems slightly forced, the melodramatics too obvious.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    The screenplay is by Jacques Prevert, the most accomplished dialogist of the period, and the famous sets, with their overtones of German expressionism, are by Alexander Trauner.

  • Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

    Set convincingly on the streets and in the tenements, every frame here feels lived in.

  • , TV Guide's Movie Guide

    A superb example of French poetic realism.

Read all 7 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Bob S


    awesome, i saw this a long time ago

  • Stella D


    one of the great doomed romantic epics of poetic realism, with director marcel carné, his writing partner, the poet jacques prévert, and the fatalistic hero of so many films of the era, jean gabin, all at the height of their powers. wonderful atmosphere

  • Tim S


    Great film! Jean Gabin puts on a clinic.

  • Eric B


    A somber, suspenseful tale -- mostly told in flashback -- about a good man (Jean Gabin) who is driven to murder. As he barricades himself in his upstairs apartment, avoiding the police and a voyeuristic crowd, the events leading to the killing are recounted. The story involves a… More

  • Walter M


    "Le Jour Se Leve" starts with Valentin(Jules Berry) making so theatrical a departure from the mortal coil that even a blind man could not miss it. A lot of the neighbors do not either, as the police are called. Arriving at the door of the culprit, Francois(Jean Gabin), a… More

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