I didn't realise that director Jean Vigo only made four films before dying at a young age, this film and Zero for Conduct are the two that appeared in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, so naturally I had to watch. Basically the L'Atalante is a canal barge, and the captain Jean (Jean Dasté) has married Juliette (Dita Parlo), despite not meeting much, and after a march they start their trip together. They are travelling between Le Havre and Paris on the barge with a cargo delivery, while on honeymoon, and there are tensions between the hardly used crew members. But the bigger conflict with tempers flaring and things smashed comes when Jean is jealous of Juliette having an affair with first mate and obsessive cat lover Père Jules (Michel Simon). Another argument and scuffle comes while in Paris and a Peddler (Gilles Margaritis) who wants to run off with Jean's wife, but having become tired of barge life she runs off anyway. Jean starts suffering near-catatonic depression having furiously left Juliette behind after casting off, and he tries a few things to try and get over it, but they do not work. Juliette meanwhile has found nothing but despair and crime since going onto the mainland, and it is only after Jean tries to kill himself jumping into the river that they are both reunited, and in the end they are happy once again together. I will be absolutely honest, and say that this explanation for what happens in the film is not something I would have recalled myself. Also starring Louis Lefebvre as Cabin Boy, Fanny Clar as Juliette's Mother, Raphaël Diligent as Raspoutine, Juliette's Father and René Blech as Best Man. I did not understand everything that was going on to be honest, but the relationship between the main characters was good, the realistic documentary style material for life on the barge is alright, and I can see that it did start influence the French New Wave of cinema, from what I did understand it is a most watchable romantic drama. Very good!
Review of L'Atalante
