Daybreak

Gabin loves a girl who is under the negative influence of a charismatic liar and cheat, and in an argument Gabin kills this man. After the murder, he barricades himself in his apartment and the viewer learns in flashbacks what preceded the tragedy. Watching a Jean Gabin as a young, honest worker is an unusual experience, because films from his early work are never shown here. The script is by the well-known French poet J. Prevért, the dialogues are often funny and Gabin is charming. (08/23/2003)

Slow and lifeless. Just like the protagonist, who looks back on the recent past even though it is obvious that his problems lies far deeper in the past. Gabin, on whose shoulders too much of the film rests, plays the existentialist wretch with every part of his body, but the presentation of the story didn’t give me a feel for the tragic nature of the situation in which he found himself (not measured by the number of gunmen). Unfortunately, too many decades have passed for me to consider at least the use of flashbacks to be imaginative. 65% (07/02/2012)

This is a film for fans of film history and enthusiasts of museum pieces. I understand that in its time it was praised by film critics and objectively probably even one of the highlights of film production of the given year, but if I evaluate it from the perspective of entertainment, it only brought me a decent dose of boredom. Of course, one can talk about the refined directing style and acting performances, but what matters is the story and the script, which dissects a banal love quadrangle and is extremely predictable. Only a few films from that era withstand my evaluation to the extent that I can give them at least an average rating. Overall impression: 45%. As a detective story, the film doesn't work at all, mainly because it begins at the end and doesn't provide any significant revelations... (06/22/2010)

It is quite clear that Gabin fits these roles well. He has the face for it, he has the skills, and the audience simply believes him. The story is well constructed, but I didn't really like the pace or where the story was heading. It definitely has its qualities, there's no arguing about that, but on the other hand, when a film doesn't interest me, it just doesn't interest me as much. (08/27/2014)