Another Dawn (Julio Bracho, Mexico, 1943)

A stylish film noir with allegorical intent, Another Dawn encapsulates contemporary tensions between conservatism and a renewal of revolutionary ideals. Andrea Palma’s Julieta is a cabaret singer who reconnects with an old lover and fellow activist from university days, Octavio (Pedro Armendáriz), now a labor organizer. After a night of intrigue, in reverse-Casablanca mode, she must choose between activist Octavio and her disenchanted husband. One of the most distinguished films in a great year for Mexican cinema, 1943, Another Dawn couches its polemics in the policier style, a look at the urban side of cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

Part of the Mexican Film Noir series at BAMPFA.