Promise at Dawn (2017 film)

Promise at Dawn (French: La Promesse de l'aube) is a 2017 drama film directed by Éric Barbier, from a screenplay written by Barbier and Marie Eynard. It is the second screen adaptation of Romain Gary's 1960 autobiographical novel Promise at Dawn, following Jules Dassin's 1970 version.[1] The film is a co-production between France and Belgium. It stars Pierre Niney and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It had its world premiere at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival on 14 October 2017. It was released in France and Belgium on 20 December 2017.

Promise at Dawn
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Promesse de l'aube
Directed byÉric Barbier
Screenplay by
  • Éric Barbier
  • Marie Eynard
Based onPromise at Dawn
by Romain Gary
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGlynn Speeckaert[1]
Edited byJennifer Augé[1]
Music byRenaud Barbier[2]
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Pathé Distribution
  • Alternative Films
Release dates
  • 14 October 2017 (2017-10-14) (Busan)
  • 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) (France)
  • 20 December 2017 (2017-12-20) (Belgium)
Running time
131 minutes[3]
Countries
  • France
  • Belgium
Budget18–24.4 million[4][5]
Box office$9.2 million[6]

Premise

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Roman Kacew recounts his life, from his childhood through his service in World War II, and the story of his self-sacrificing mother Nina, who raised him alone.

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced by Éric Jehelmann and Philippe Rousselet for Jerico Films, in co-production with Pathé Films, TF1 Films Production, Lorette Cinéma and Belgium's Nexus Factory and Umedia.[1]

Release

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Promise at Dawn was first screened in a sneak preview at the Pathé cinema in Évreux, Normandy, in the presence of Éric Barbier.[7] The film was selected to be screened in the World Cinema section at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival.[8][9] It had its world premiere in Busan on 14 October 2017.[10] It was theatrically released in France by Pathé Distribution on 20 December 2017.[11] It was released the same day in Belgium by Alternative Films.

Reception

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Box office

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On its first day, Promise at Dawn sold 46,358 admissions in France.[12] At the end of its theatrical run in France, the film sold a total of 1,053,288 admissions, grossing a domestic total of $8.8 million[5] and a worldwide total of $9.2 million.[6]

Critical response

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Promise at Dawn received an average rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 30 reviews.[13] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10.[14]

Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times wrote, "The movie looks and sounds great, but greatness and depth elude it".[15]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
César Awards 2 March 2018 Best Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg Nominated [16]
Best Adaptation Éric Barbier and Marie Eynard Nominated
Best Production Design Pierre Renson Nominated
Best Costume Design Catherine Bouchard Nominated
Lumières Award 5 February 2018 Best Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg Nominated [17]
Sarlat Film Festival [fr] 18 November 2017 Prix des lycéens Promise at Dawn Won [18][19]
Prix d'interprétation masculine Pierre Niney Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lodge, Guy (16 October 2017). "Film Review: 'Promise at Dawn'". Variety. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  2. ^ Jihelbey (28 April 2018). "La Promesse de l'aube : une adaptation grandiose (en Blu-ray, DVD et VOD)". ON-mag.fr (in French). Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  3. ^ Fagerholm, Matt (6 September 2019). "Promise at Dawn movie review & film summary (2019)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  4. ^ Aubel, François (23 August 2016). "Sur le tournage de La Promesse de l'aube, avec Pierre Niney et Charlotte Gainsbourg". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b "La Promesse de l'aube". JP Box Office (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Promise at Dawn (2017)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  7. ^ Rol, Catherine (21 August 2017). "Eure: une semaine de cinéma à 4€ la séance". Paris-Normandie (in French). Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  8. ^ González, David (12 October 2017). "A strong European contingent gets ready to head to Busan". Cineuropa. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  9. ^ "French films at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival". Unifrance. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Promise at Dawn". Busan International Film Festival. September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  11. ^ "A Ghost story, La promesse de l'aube, Ferdinand : les films au cinéma cette semaine". Première (in French). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  12. ^ Champalaune, Mathieu (21 December 2017). "Box office: Ferdinand démarre bien, Star Wars continue à tout écraser". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  13. ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film La Promesse de l'aube". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Promise at Dawn". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  15. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (5 September 2019). "'Promise at Dawn' Review: An Extraordinary Life, Thanks to Mom". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (31 January 2018). "César Nominations: 'BPM', 'Au Revoir Là-Haut' Lead Hunt For Top French Film Prizes". Deadline. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  17. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (11 December 2017). "Robin Campillo's 'BPM (Beats Per Minute)' Leads France's 2017 Lumieres Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  18. ^ Bellet, Nicolas (18 November 2017). "Festival du Film de Sarlat 2017 : le palmarès vient de tomber". Première (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  19. ^ "2017, 26ème édition". Festival du Film de Sarlat (in French). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
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