Cela s'appelle l'aurore

Cela s'appelle l'aurore (English: This is Called Dawn) is a 1956 Franco-Italian film, directed by Luis Buñuel. It was written by Buñuel and Jean Ferry, based on a novel by Emmanuel Roblès.

Cela s'appelle l'aurore
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Luis Buñuel, with assistance from Marcel Camus and Jacques Deray
Written by	Jean Ferry Luis Buñuel Based on a novel by Emmanuel Roblès
Produced by	Edmond Ténoudji Claude Jaeger
Starring	Georges Marchal Lucia Bosé Julien Bertheau Giani Esposito
Music by	Joseph Kosma
Distributed by	Les Films Marceau Laetitia Film
Release date	9 May 1956 (1956-05-09) (France)
Running time	102 minutes
Language	French

Plot

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

Georges Marchal	Doctor Valerio
Lucia Bosé	Clara
Julien Bertheau	Commissioner Fasaro
Nelly Borgeaud	Angela
Giani Esposito	Sandro Galli
Brigitte Elloy	Magda
Jean-Jacques Delbo	Gorzone
Simone Paris	Mrs. Gorzone
Gaston Modot	Sandro's replacement

Reception

Time Out wrote "Highly rated by the director himself, but poorly received and subsequently rarely shown, this is actually a beautifully made parable about commitment, and curiously one of Buñuel's most moving films."

External links

• Cela s'appelle l'aurore at IMDb