Film: L'Atalante
Director: Jean Vigo
Country: France
Released: September 1934
Runtime: 89 minutes
Genre: Fantasy
Studio: Gaumont
Influenced: François Truffaut, Bernardo Bertolucci, Emir Kusturica, Jean-Luc Godard
Jean Vigo's only feature length film is almost indefinable, its dreamlike atmosphere, foggy setting and poetic dialogue so original that it makes for a completely unique cinematic experience. After the controversy of his previous short film Zero de Conduite, which critiqued the French education system, Vigo had trouble in the production phase of this film but once the subject of barge dwellers was decided upon in summer 1933, Vigo moved quickly to assemble a crack team of collaborators for the project, including the brother of Dziga Vertov, cinematographer Boris Kaufman.
Essentially, the story is of a young barge captain Jean (played by Jean Dasté) who marries and takes his bride Juliette (played by Dita Parlo) on a barge trip down the river Seine, but an argument between them causes a parting of ways and they lose each other in the mist. My favourite character in the film is the earthy, tattooed barge hand Père Jules (played by Michel Simon) who finds Juliette and helps her reunite with Jean. The whole story has the feel of a dreamy, modern folk tale.
When L'Atalante came out in late 1934, the film bombed at the box office and was (largely) panned by critics. Vigo died a just a month after its release from tuberculosis. It was only after WWII that the film started to attain the beginnings of its cult status, after being championed by several French directors who formed part of the New Wave in the late 1950s. French essayist Élie Faure summed up the film's unique lyrical atmosphere perfectly, saying: "The spirit of Jean Vigo's work is classical, almost violent and always tormented, fevered, overflowing with ideas and with fantasy; truculent; a virulent and even demonical romanticism that still remains humanistic."
What sticks in the memory after watching this film are some of the powerful images, such as the shot of Juliette in her wedding dress magically superimposed over Jean as he swims in the canal. Maurice Jaubert's score is perfect too, and I'll never forget the way it marries perfectly with the image of Jean running across the beach – after docking his barge in Le Havre – and then gazing dreamily at the horizon, to suggest his undying passion for Juliette.
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