Jour Se Lève

de Ben McCann

Le Jour se lève (1939), directed by Marcel Carné, is widely recognised as the classic French Poetic Realist film. Told in flashback, it recounts the story of a man who has committed a murder, and who awaits his fate as the police close in. Carné shuttles between different registers, tones, and textures throughout, marshalling the studio's resources to create striking pictorial compositions. The film also contains the great French star Jean Gabin's most iconic performance as François, marooned at the top of his apartment building. Ben McCann's perceptive and lively book traces the evolution of 'Le Jour se lève' and situates it in a very specific historical moment. He also underlines the importance of actors Jules Berry and Arletty, production designer Alexandre Trauner, writer Jacques Prévert, and cinematographer Curt Courant in establishing the film's tone, mood, and visual style. He charts the national and international reception of the film, uncovering a work that deeply divided critics at a time of national crisis. He also reveals Le Jour se lève to be a key transitional work between European and American noir and compares it with the 1947 Hollywood remake, The Long Night.