Dawn

Dawn

2015 · 92 min · ★ 7.5 · Drama

Based on a Soviet propaganda story about Young Pioneer (the Soviet equivalent of a Boy Scout) Morozov, who denounced his father to Stalin’s secret police and was in turn killed by his family. His life exemplified the duty of all good Soviet citizens to become informers, at any expense. In our film, 75 years later, we call him little Janis. He is a Pioneer who lives on the Soviet collective farm “Dawn”. His father is an enemy of the farm (and the Soviet system) and plots against it. Little Janis betrays his father; his father takes revenge upon his son. Who then in this old Soviet tale is good and who is bad? This film reveals that a distorted brain is always dangerous. Even today.

Directed by Laila Pakalnina · Written by Laila Pakalnina

Your Rating

Cast

Antons Georgs Grauds Little Janis
Vilis Daudziņš Little Janis' Father
Wiktor Zborowski Karl Ivanovitš
Āris Rozentāls Karl Ivanovitš (voice)
Andris Keišs Jekabs Kalnins
Liena Šmukste Mirdza Ozolina
Ģirts Krūmiņš Joosep Ozolin
Rūdolfs Plēpis Narrator
Ivars Brakovskis Doctor
Beatrise Gulbe Pioneer
Gatis Gāga Karl Ivanovitš's Assistant
Uldis Lieldidzs Teacher

Make it a double feature

3h together

Dawn

The Python

Both from Laila Pakalnina.

More from Laila PakalninaSee all →

The Python

The Python · 2003

An absurdist farce centering around a school in post-Soviet Latvia. After a rather disgusting prank (someone defecates in the school attic), the tyrannical headmistress deems that no one can leave until the culprit is caught. When the photographer's pet python escapes, havok breaks loose.

Annas Ziemassvētki

Annas Ziemassvētki · 1992

Annas Ziemassvētki

Little Anna is waiting for her first Christmas.

Bus

MovieDocumentary

This documentary follows a bustrip from Tallinn to Kaliningrad. A route that was so common in the Soviet times now passes through 4 different countries and crosses 3 different borders.

Church

MovieDocumentary

The Stoļarova congregation is building its own church.

Hello, Horse!

Hello, Horse! · 2017

MovieDocumentary

A film about everything changing while remaining the same. Or rather – everything remaining the same while changing. We observed this (and wanted to share) while standing (standing regularly and for a long time) on a road rather close to the Eastern border of Latvia, because we followed the suggestion of the locals who asked to shoot “that horrible road”.

Martin

MovieDocumentary

A film about the daily life of Martin, a handicapped child who will always be dependent on his parents. Ever since he was very small, Martin has had to get around in a wheelchair and has needed the constant help of an adult. Martin’s parents, Inga and Andris Skesteri, tell about their life, about their son’s character and about their hopes for the future.

Dream Land

Dream Land · 2004

MovieDocumentary

There are places that we don’t want to know anything about, places that we would rather pretend don’t exist at all. One such place is a dumpsite. From the humans’ point of view, it is a ghastly place, a stinking desert of trash. But it’s a desert that is teaming with life.

The Ferry

The Ferry · 1994

MovieDocumentary

The ferry crosses the river, transporting people from one shore to the other, from one country to another. It runs year round, never stopping. The footage was filmed on the Latvian-Belarussian border in the early 1990s - a time when the Soviet Union began to crumble and Latvia regained its independence.

33 Animals of Santa Claus

33 Animals of Santa Claus · 2011

33 Animals of Santa Claus

MovieDocumentary

Santa Claus lives on the fourth floor of an apartment block. Santa owns seven dogs, six cats, two rabbits, one crow, one pigeon, one chinchilla, one guinea pig, ten degus and some fish.

Visions of Europe

Visions of Europe · 2004

Visions of Europe

MovieDocumentaryComedy

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

The Shoe

The Shoe · 1998

MovieComedyDrama

The late 1950s. Every night, Soviet tractors comb the coast of Latvia looking for signs of anyone who could have infiltrated the Soviet border from the sea. One morning, three Soviet patrolmen discover a woman’s shoe in the sand and footsteps leading to the quaint little village of Liepaja.

Three Men and a Fish Pond

Three Men and a Fish Pond · 2008

Three Men and a Fish Pond

MovieDocumentary

Three elderly country bachelors idle away their time amidst semi-wild nature, closer to birds and pond fish than to humans.

Forty Two

Forty Two · 2013

MovieDocumentary

As soon as I finished my first marathon, I wanted to become a tripod in order to make a film about it. That is because words are certainly not the right instruments to tell us what it’s like to run a marathon. I think we can try to show it through the characters, noises, texts, lights, the absolute physical understanding of shadows and of the sun, the water, the motions and the serenity. For those who do not practice running in marathons because they don’t want to or because they can’t, I wish to bring something from inside the marathon, out; for example, for my Mum, whose legs ache. I am acting like a spy sent into the marathon.

Waterfall

Waterfall · 2016

MovieDocumentary

Waterfall and I, and – no, the other way around! This film is, of course, about nature – human nature. Or – what a human can do with the widest waterfall in Europe.

Spoon

MovieDocumentary

A film about a plastic spoon and a society that has reached a high level of development – oil is being retrieved from subterranean depths, transported to processing plants, turned into plastic, transported to another plant, where it acquires the shape of a spoon, transported to convenience stores, where we buy it, and is then soon tossed into the trash. In other words, this is a film about the efforts put into making a spoon that can be thrown away so effortlessly.

Cat on my Mind

Cat on my Mind · 2025

MovieDocumentary

We literally found our film next to a dumpster. It was a bag containing 36 rolls of photographic negatives exposed between the 1960s and 1980s by an unknown photographer. We named him Anton, Aunt Emma's son. Looking through our contact sheets, with their many inaccuracies—blurred edges, random elements in the frame, haze, accidents, and double exposures—we tried to imagine what our lives would be like if these were our photos.

More Like This

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair · 2004

MovieDramaRomance

In early 19th century England, orphaned Becky Sharp defies her poverty-stricken background and ascends the social ladder alongside her best friend.

Elegy

MovieDramaRomance

Cultural critic David Kepesh finds his life -- which he indicates is a state of "emancipated manhood" -- thrown into tragic disarray by Consuela Castillo, a well-mannered student who awakens a sense of sexual possessiveness in her teacher.

Little Man Tate

Little Man Tate · 1991

Little Man Tate

MovieDramaFamily

Dede is a sole parent trying to bring up her son Fred. When it is discovered that Fred is a genius, she is determined to ensure that Fred has all the opportunities that he needs, and that he is not taken advantage of by people who forget that his extremely powerful intellect is harboured in the body and emotions of a child.

Look at Me

Look at Me · 2004

MovieComedyDrama

Talented 20-year-old Lolita dreams of a singing career. But her self-esteem is low due to her weight problem and her narcissistic father, Étienne, a literary star with scant interest in his daughter's life. Lolita finds little comfort in the attentions of her vocal coach, suspecting the woman is using her to meet her influential father. Étienne's second wife proves to be Lolita's only trustworthy ally in her private battle to find a sense of worth.

Red Road

Red Road · 2006

MovieDramaThriller

Jackie is a CCTV operator. One day, a man shows his face on her monitor, a man she hoped never to see again. Now she has no choice and is compelled to confront him.

Bandits

Bandits · 1997

MovieDramaMusic

Four female cons who have formed a band in prison get a chance to play at a police ball outside the walls. They take the chance to escape. Being on the run from the law they even make it to sell their music and become famous outlaws.

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek · 2014

MovieDramaRomance

Four fragile young people flee London to start an unconventional utopia, creating a world of fantasy that overwhelms them.

How to Make an American Quilt

How to Make an American Quilt · 1995

How to Make an American Quilt

MovieDramaRomance

Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn visits her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe Cleary, in Grasse, Calif. There, Finn learns that Hy and Glady Joe are members of a group of passionate quilters, and over the course of her visit she is regaled with tales of love and life by women who have collected rich experiences and much wisdom.

He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not

He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not · 2002

He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not

MovieDramaRomance

A talented art student named Angélique is passionately in love with Dr. Loïc Le Garrec, a handsome married man whom she believes will leave his wife. When he eventually decides to stay in his marriage, it causes Angélique to spiral. However, as the story shifts from Angélique's perspective to Loïc's, the surprising truth about their relationship is revealed.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter