a review of 天色破晓

Le Jour se Lève was a reasonably pleasant watch, despite being slightly boring and dated at times. Jean Gabin was a charismatic actor, like a French counterpart of Kirk Douglas. This is the first time I saw him this young. I came to know him as an older gangster boss in more recent French films. I'm always a sucker for the dark atmosphere of Film Noir, featuring disillusioned men and women with broken lives and regrets. Le Jour se Lève had its moments, but ultimately I thought it lacked the sophistication of Hollywood Film Noir from that time, both in acting and direction, although Jean Gabin definitely had a magnetic screen presence.