Thursday, November 2, 2017

Jean Vigo Marathon - L'Atalante


L'Atalante (1934)

Vigo's first and final feature-length film, L'Atalante is considered by many to be one of the greatest movies of all time.

The story is simple: A pair of newlyweds take a boat ride to Paris for their honeymoon. Along the way they discover that relationships are difficult and messy. Like I said, simple. But what makes it interesting are the many little moments that the film is comprised of, moments of jealousy, miscommunication, camaraderie, fear, and love.

This film is famous and influential for several reasons; the composition, the story, the cinematography, the locations, the underwater sequence, etc. For me though, the standout element of the film is Michel Simon.

Simon plays a gregarious but sensitive old sailor who is constantly at the peak of whatever emotion he's feeling, whether he's telling old stories, flirting with a fortune teller, or showing the young couple how to properly wrestle. He's such an authentic character, a specific kind of old man whom we've all met before in some way or another, that he heightens the whole film to a specific standard of reality.

Jean Vigo clearly had a vision, which to me is the only thing that's truly required to make a great film. He knew exactly what kind of performances he wanted from his actors, what the sets would look like, how they would be shot, everything. Though the film wasn't truly appreciated until the 1940's when filmmakers such as Francois Truffaut would discover it, it eventually was given the legendary status it rightfully deserved.

It's such a shame that Vigo passed so young from tuberculosis (a disease that could be cured now with antibiotics), both because of the loved ones he left behind, and because of his many films that we'll never get to see. He certainly had a streak of surrealism in his films, so it would've been fascinating to see how he would have continued down that path, perhaps becoming an even greater influence to the French New Wave than he already was, or perhaps he would have leaned more into the authenticity of his films and followed a style more like Italian Neorealism. Either way, I'm sure it would have been wonderful.

His entire oeuvre can be viewed in under 3 hours, so why not take an afternoon to check them out?

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