''Cela s'appelle l'aurore'' (English: ''This is Called Dawn'') is a 1956 Franco-Italian film, directed by

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

. It was written by Buñuel and Jean Ferry, based on a novel by Emmanuel Roblès.

Synopsis

In a town in Corsica, Dr. Valerio is committed to caring for the poor. His childless wife, Angela, cannot stand the place and wants to move to

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, but the doctor does not want to leave before finding a replacement. Valerio is sympathetic to the

working poor The working poor are working people whose incomes fall below a given poverty line due to low-income jobs and low familial household income. These are people who spend at least 27 weeks in a year working or looking for employment, but remain und ...

of the area, particularly Sandro, a farm worker who maintains the trees belonging to Gorzone, a rich industrialist and the primary employer in the town. Angela becomes ill and wanders the town's slum quarters in a delirium, ultimately leaving the town for a holiday in Nice without her husband. The Commissioner of Police takes Valerio to a mountain village in order to sign medical reports for a little girl who had been raped by her grandfather. There, Valerio meets Clara, a rich young widow. He offers a relationship, but is rebuffed. Meanwhile, Sandro is dismissed by Gorzone, forcing Sandro and his tubercular wife, Magda, to leave their home, a move that results in Magda's death. Distracted by grief, Sandro shoots Gorzone. Valerio hides Sandro from the police, a decision that results in Angela leaving the doctor for good. Sandro leaves Valerio's protection and, when cornered by the authorities, shoots himself. Valerio refuses to shake hands with the Commissioner, and the last scene shows Valerio and Clara walking away at night, arm in arm on the quayside, followed by some of Sandro's friends.

Political theme

Film critic

Raymond Durgnat Raymond Durgnat (1 September 1932 – 19 May 2002) was a British film critic, who was born in London to Swiss parents. During his life he wrote for virtually every major English language film publication. In 1965 he published the first maj ...

has called this film the first of Buñuel's "revolutionary triptych", along with '' La Mort en ce jardin'' and '' La fièvre monte à El Pao'': "Each of these films is, openly, or by implication, a study in the morality and tactics of armed revolution against a right-wing dictatorship."

Cast

References

External links

* {{Luis Buñuel 1956 films Films directed by Luis Buñuel Films scored by Joseph Kosma French drama films French black-and-white films 1956 drama films