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Promise at Dawn

Original title: La promesse de l'aube
  • 2017
  • 2h 11m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Pierre Niney in Promise at Dawn (2017)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaRomanceWar

A man recounts his life, from his childhood through his experiences in World War II, and the story of his self-sacrificing mother, who raised him alone.A man recounts his life, from his childhood through his experiences in World War II, and the story of his self-sacrificing mother, who raised him alone.A man recounts his life, from his childhood through his experiences in World War II, and the story of his self-sacrificing mother, who raised him alone.

  • Director
    • Eric Barbier
  • Writers
    • Eric Barbier
    • Marie Eynard
    • Romain Gary
  • Stars
    • Pierre Niney
    • Charlotte Gainsbourg
    • Didier Bourdon
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    4.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Eric Barbier
    • Writers
      • Eric Barbier
      • Marie Eynard
      • Romain Gary
    • Stars
      • Pierre Niney
      • Charlotte Gainsbourg
      • Didier Bourdon
    • 20User reviews
    • 43Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:12
    Official Trailer

    Photos103

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    + 95
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Pierre Niney
    Pierre Niney
    • Roman Kacew, dit Romain Gary
    Charlotte Gainsbourg
    Charlotte Gainsbourg
    • Nina Kacew
    Didier Bourdon
    Didier Bourdon
    • Alex Gubernatis
    Jean-Pierre Darroussin
    Jean-Pierre Darroussin
    • Zaremba
    Catherine McCormack
    Catherine McCormack
    • Lesley Blanch
    Finnegan Oldfield
    Finnegan Oldfield
    • Capitaine Langer
    Pawel Puchalski
    • Romain (8-10 ans)
    Némo Schiffman
    • Romain (14-16 ans)
    Zoe Boyle
    Zoe Boyle
    • La poétesse
    Lou Chauvain
    • Mariette
    Emiliano Suarez
    • Le chauffeur de taxi Mexique
    Alberto Maneiro
    Alberto Maneiro
    • Le médecin hôpital Mexico
    Preciado Rodriguez
    • Le réceptionniste hôtel Puebla
    Katarzyna Skarzanka
    • Aniela
    Marta Klubowicz
    Marta Klubowicz
    • Madame Podowska
    Piotr Cyrwus
    Piotr Cyrwus
    • Le policier Wilno
    Jakub Oniszk
    • Kazik
    Klaudia Trafalska
    • Valentine
    • Director
      • Eric Barbier
    • Writers
      • Eric Barbier
      • Marie Eynard
      • Romain Gary
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews20

    7.14.1K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    8andrebatucadabsb

    A very good movie.

    A great story, well told and represented. A good movie starts in a great script. French cinema continues to bring us the finest art.
    8ingmarbeldman-753-927212

    Too long but toxic jump into the psyche of a ruined life.

    A skilfully made bio-pic with really inpregnating and 'wise' words on the male psychy Production is round and very professional.

    The film is almost entirely told as a flash-back, in which the life of the tormented writer is told in his own words. It is the equally gruesome, as beautifully told "confession" of a crushing motherly love and the destruction of the child's psyche under that pressure. All storylines are more than interesting, the two actors shine, but there is a postponed climax on script level. When it's there - horrific in it's consequences - we are one hour and a half in the movie. And that is too long to keep the attention fully focused.

    The horrific consequences of the destructive mother lie at a deeper level of development of the writer and, in my opinion, should have been expressed less poetically and more realistically. But that is a style choice. It's a French movie after all, right?

    Nonetheless, with great pleasure and deliberation, I have looked at the ode to a ruined life, where the talent of being a writer turns out to be both a victory and a curse.
    8zutterjp48

    A great story about maternal love

    I enjoyed very much this film based on the novel "La Promesse de l'Aube " of Romain Gary. A beautiful story about the complicated and touching relationship of Romain and his mother Nina who wants that her son becomes the ambassador of France and a great writer.

    So we follow Romain and Nina in Vilnius and later Varsaw, the childhood of Romain-the first love with Valentina-, the business of his mother and the antisemitism. The travel to Nice, the beginning of the writing,and then the Second World Wae- the troubles of Romain because of his Jew origin., Romain joining the French Liberation army, the stay in Africa and later his engagement in the French Liberation army.

    I enjoyed very much the perfomances of Pierre Niney,Charlotte Gaisbourg, Didier Bourdon, Jean-Pierre Droussin and Catherine Mc Cormack.
    9danreed80

    Meandering yet ultimately fascinating biopic

    Watched it on a recent flight to Paris and glad that I did since I probably wouldn't have paid to see it (not the biggest Gainsbourg fan) and would've missed out on a modern classic. The two main characters in the film, the mother (Gainsbourg) and the son (Niney) carry the film due to the inspired performances of the actors playing those roles. Gainsbourg, in particular, gave a finely-tuned, nuanced performance that perfectly captured the extraordinarily devoted yet overbearing character of Nina; I'm now a big fan! Also inspired were the cinematography and the breathtaking dogfight scenes, which were probably the best I've seen in any war film. The first half of the film does meander a bit and the pace of it gets a bit patchy (hence the 9 stars instead of 10) but the second half more than makes up for it. I didn't know the film was based on a true story (i.e. Romain Gary's biography) until I read the closing credits, which made it that much more impactful and emphatic since real people actually lived the epic events portrayed in the film. The closing credits also had another shock but I won't reveal it here so that I won't spoil the film! All in all, this was probably the best film I've seen in a long while; it felt genuine, engrossing and it left me with tears in my eyes, though the airplane food may have contributed to that.
    8pnoronha-60268

    Unmissable

    Absolutely DIVINAL! Majestic interpretations and how history grabs you to the screen is remarkable

    Best Emmys Moments

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
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    War

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To prepare the character of Nina, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg admits to have been inspired by her paternal grandmother, also of Russian origin.
    • Quotes

      Roman Kacew, dit Romain Gary: I made the promise to straighten the world and lay it at his feet

    • Connections
      Featured in ACS France (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      The Twins
      Composed by Max Richter

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    FAQ16

    • How long is Promise at Dawn?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 6, 2019 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Belgium
    • Official sites
      • Official Site (Germany)
      • Official Site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • Swedish
      • French
      • Polish
      • Spanish
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Promesa al amanecer
    • Filming locations
      • Bordighera, Imperia, Liguria, Italy(Interior and exterior scenes)
    • Production companies
      • Jerico
      • Pathé
      • Nexus Factory
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $9,242,157
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 11m(131 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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