L'Atalante

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Leo P This movie has aged better than its contemporaries.That's because it has no phones in it.It has a broken gramophone and a radio,but no telephones.This beautiful film also teaches us an important lesson:Never abandon your wife in a big and merciless city just because you had a silly argument. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/26/24 Full Review Dave S After a simple marriage ceremony, barge captain Jean (Jean Daste) and his naïve bride Juliette (Dita Parlo) begin their life together in the cabin of his ship, trying to come to terms with their differences – she wishing to see a passing world that she can only observe from the deck of the vessel, he coming to terms with her flirtatious ways and need for cleanliness. Considered a masterpiece by many and undoubtedly highly influential, Jean Vigo's L'Atalante may have trouble living up to its considerable reputation for many viewers. It's filled with and handful of great set pieces and an excellent story that examines the inherent difficulties with making a marriage work, but anyone watching this for the first time expecting something along the lines of Citizen Kane may be disappointed. Keep an open mind and there are treasures to be found in L'Atalante. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 11/23/23 Full Review isla s This film is quite a light and easy watch, with some amusing characters and even a slight element of surrealism to it ocassionally. I liked the drunk French boatworker (Le pere Jules), even if it is a bit of a stereotype, it was quite silly but enjoyable. I liked the tinkly piano music played in the background at times too. I thought the script was surprisingly poignant, come to think of it. Its a little quirky but certainly an enjoyable and entertaining watch with a nice sort of pace, or feel, to it and so I would recommend it, yes. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Christopher B A landmark French film and what is considered one of the greatest films of all time, L'Atalante is a masterpiece and shows the talent of Jean Vigo, as it is his crowning achievement. Jean Vigo died making this film due to his poor health and many believe, he in a sense died for cinema itself. What can be said with certainty though, is that the film is a visual masterpiece that is a love story, albeit darker than most in tone, but a poetic and wonderfully filmed piece of cinema that has inspired an untold numbers of Directors! Another essential film to view and as Jean Vigo's only full length feature, a piece of the man and his vision that can be cherished and appreciated decades after his death. This is most definitely a piece of cinema history and is wonderful! Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 11/01/22 Full Review Audience Member If the tragically short life of Jean Vigo had to be limited to the production of a single feature length film, one could hardly achieve a more moving depiction of the innocence and heartbreak of married life than L'Atalante, arguably the most poignant portrait of the newly-wed aesthetic ever crafted during the golden age of cinema. Of particularly impressive note is Vigo's willingness to combine universal themes with his own uniquely surreal aesthetic, resulting in a masterpiece that transcends its own touching commentary on the pettiness and innocence of new romance to become something altogether more grand and visionary. Utilizing a wistful score which is perfectly suited to its themes, "L'Atalante" strikes directly at the heart of the viewer with a story endowed with both the strengths and frailties of humanity, perfectly harnessing the vulnerability inherent in a new love setting sail on the stormy seas of unpredictability. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Ethan S This is the kind of movie someone serious about writing movie reviews may feel a little troubled by. Virtually every review of this movie points out how both hugely influential and beautifully executed it is, they'll say something about Jean Vigo's masterful vision and so on. To the point that, when it comes to watching the film, you feel like you have failed emotionally or intellectually as a human being to not come away from it with the same level of satisfaction that others seem to have found. Or at least represented in type that they have found. Don't get me wrong, I thought the movie was good. From a historical perspective I'm not sure many movies like this had been made before; the romance between the couple at the center of the story is extremely nuanced and believable, there is nothing stagey or contrived about it, no heroes or villains. The boat itself encloses the story and the characters - they are stuck in close proximity to one another with a dark and dreary world passing by, but the promise of Paris and all that entails drives the characters to break through the boundary created by the hull of the boat - particularly Dita Parlo's character, who has traded the enclosure of small village life for the enclosure of the vessel and who longs to see and experience the city of lights. It is a well-crafted, well-shot story. It didn't blow me away, but... I think I can see why it is so influential and appreciate it on that level. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/25/21 Full Review Read all reviews

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