Promise at Dawn (2017)

From his childhood in Poland to his adolescence in Nice to his years as a student in Paris and his tough training as a pilot during World War II, this tragi-comedy tells the romantic story ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Barbier

Writers:

Eric Barbier, Marie Eynard

Stars:

Pierre Niney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Didier Bourdon

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierre Niney	...	Roman Kacew, dit Romain Gary
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Nina Kacew
Didier Bourdon	...	Alex Gubernatis
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Zaremba
Catherine McCormack	...	Lesley Blanch
Finnegan Oldfield	...	Capitaine Langer
Pawel Puchalski	...	Romain (8-10 ans)
Némo Schiffman	...	Romain (14-16 ans)
Zoe Boyle	...	La poétesse
Lou Chauvain	...	Mariette
Emiliano Suarez	...	Le chauffeur de taxi Mexique
Alberto Maneiro	...	Le médecin hôpital Mexico
Preciado Rodriguez	...	Le réceptionniste hôtel Puebla
Katarzyna Skarzanka	...	Aniela
Marta Klubowicz	...	Madame Podowska

Storyline

From his childhood in Poland to his adolescence in Nice to his years as a student in Paris and his tough training as a pilot during World War II, this tragi-comedy tells the romantic story of Romain Gary, one of the most famous French novelists and sole writer to have won the Goncourt Prize for French literature two times.

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Plot Keywords:

mother son relationship | anti semitism | nice france | world war two | vilnius | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | War

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French Polish Spanish English

Release Date:

20 December 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

Promise at Dawn

Filming Locations:

Bordighera, Imperia, Liguria, Italy

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,204,750

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerico, Pathé, Nexus Factory

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Alternate-language version of Promise at Dawn (1970)

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Soundtracks

The Twins
Composed by Max Richter

User Reviews

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 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.