There is beauty to be found in understatement in At Dawn.
Written and directed by Antonin Bonnot, this placid, short drama is quotidian in its atmosphere and quietly profound in its aims. Taking place across a single 24-hour period, it depicts a day in the life of the octogenarian, Daniel (Vincent Grass) living alone in a rural farmhouse. On this day, Daniel wakes to find that today feel different, and he knows that he needs to make the most of it. A moving evocation of reflection and gratitude, Bonnot’s short received its world premiere at the 2024 Oldenburg Film Festival.
Perhaps surprisingly, and most refreshingly, despite the strange sensation that his time might be limited, Daniel doesn’t immediately begin trying to cram in as many experiences as possible, or change his way of living for a day. Instead, he savours the life he leads and adds small treats and moments of nostalgia to his usual routine. He still collects the eggs from his hens ready to donate to his neighbour, he still slips into a gentle sleep in front of the television in the afternoon – but on this day he also takes some time to go through old photographs of his wife and allows himself a glass of expensive-looking red wine. He leaves a message on his son’s answering machine requesting a call back from his grandchildren.
Bonnot’s film is suitably unadorned for a depiction of such a humble individual. Simple, rather than simplistic, it allows room for the rhythms of Daniel’s to come to their own slow conclusion. Marc Stef’s cinematography is elegant and composed, but with an almost documentary air, and the editing is similarly unobtrusive. Bonnot’s screenplay doesn’t labour Daniel’s history, but it conveys the sense that he is someone who has not taken centre stage for a long time an At Dawn grants him to opportunity to take it for one last time. It’s poignancy, for both protagonist and viewer, lies in the act of reflection,
Director, screenplay: Antonin Bonnot Cast: Vincent Grass, Anne Cornu Producer: Claude Lelouch, Anne Gros, Antonin Bonnot Cinematography: Marc Stef Editing: Antonin Bonnot, Sarah Grosset Make up: Manon Lamard Music: Partit Sound: Gautier Aubry Production companies: Les Ateliers du Cinema, Les Films 13 (France)
Venue: Oldenburg Film Festival
In French 25 minutes
