Bolop and Lilacs: Identification and Transcendence in Le Jour se lève

This article examines the question of identification in Marcel Carné's Le Jour se lève. Beginning with the vexed question of the spectator's identification with the film's protagonist, the article then considers how the film itself puts identification into question. The article explores the depiction of identification within Le Jour se lève both in the light of Sartre's philosophy in L'Etre et le néant and in comparison with the film's American remake, The Long Night.