L'atalante (1934)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Jean Vigo

Writers:

Jean Guinée (writer)
Albert Riéra (dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

21 June 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

When Juliette marries Jean, she comes to live on his ship, on board of which are, besides the two of them...

Plot Keywords:

Depression | Husband Wife Relationship | Newlywed | Marriage | Anarchist

Cast

Michel Simon	...	Le père Jules
Dita Parlo	...	Juliette
Jean Dasté	...	Jean
Gilles Margaritis	...	Le camelot
Louis Lefebvre	...	Le gosse
Maurice Gilles	...	Le chef de bureau
Raphaël Diligent	...	Raspoutine, le batelier (as Rafa Diligent)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Claude Aveline	...	(uncredited)
René Blech	...	Le garçon d'honneur (uncredited)
Lou Bonin	...	(uncredited)
Fanny Clar	...	La mère de Juliette (uncredited)
Charles Goldblatt	...	Le voleur (uncredited)
Paul Grimault	...	(uncredited)
Genya Lozinska	...	(uncredited)
Gen Paul	...	L'invité qui boite (uncredited)
Jacques Prévert	...	Extra at Station (uncredited)
Pierre Prévert	...	Le voyageur pressé (uncredited)
Albert Riéra	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Vigo

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Guinée		writer
Albert Riéra		dialogue
Albert Riéra		screenplay
Jean Vigo		dialogue
Jean Vigo		screenplay

Produced by
Jacques-Louis Nounez	....	producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jaubert

Cinematography by
Jean-Paul Alphen		(originally uncredited)
Louis Berger
Boris Kaufman

Film Editing by
Louis Chavance

Art Direction by
Francis Jourdain

Makeup Department
Acho Chakatouny	....	makeup artist: Michel Simon

Production Management
Henri Arbel	....	unit manager (originally uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pierre Merle	....	assistant director
Albert Riéra	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jean-Louis Bompoint	....	art director: restoration
Pierre Lestringuez	....	restoration art director

Sound Department
Lucien Baujard	....	sound
Marcel Royné	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Roger Parry	....	still photographer

Other crew
Fred Matter	....	script supervisor (originally uncredited)
Jacqueline Morland	....	production secretary (originally uncredited)
Jacqueline Morland	....	script supervisor (originally uncredited)

Production Companies

• Gaumont-Franco Film-Aubert (G.F.F.A)

Distributors

• Sputnik (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (1990) (UK)
• Cine Classics (1947) (USA) (subtitled)
• Film Traders Ltd. (1946) (UK)
• Gaumont International
• Magnus Opus (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Malofilm Distribution (Canada)
• Sherlock Home Video (2005) (Spain) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Le chaland qui passe

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 (video release) | Spain:7 (DVD release) | Iceland:L | Finland:S (2007) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bassin de la Villette, Paris 19, Paris, France

Company:

Gaumont-Franco Film-Aubert (G.F.F.A)

Trivia:

Some shots are included in the main title of Italian TV show "Fuori Orario"

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chacun son cinéma ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence (2007)

A Gentle, Contemplative Classic

There aren't many classics that are as deceptively simple as "L'Atalante". Its gentle, contemplative tone - punctuated by occasional stretches of Michel Simon's antics - conceals a carefully made film with some worthwhile themes that go beyond the story itself. The lavish praises that it sometimes receives have perhaps created unrealistic expectations, which is unfortunate, because it is a fine, though understated, classic.

Jean and Juliette, the two main characters, both have strengths and weaknesses that make them believable. Jean is responsible and disciplined, while Juliette is easygoing and gregarious (which makes her the easiest of the two to appreciate and to sympathize with). But Jean's rigidity and his occasional impatience, in combination with Juliette's naiveté and her occasional impulsiveness, make for difficulties in their relationship.

If they seem boring when compared to the couples in many other movie romances, it is precisely this that makes the film worthwhile. It focuses closely on two ordinary people, without distracting frills or forced social commentary. Most of us are not all that interesting to others, and our lives and problems are usually important only to us. It is part of Jean Vigo's achievement that he takes two such commonplace characters and makes them worth caring about, and by implication he tells us that we are all worth caring about, even if we and our lives may not matter much to others.

By keeping most of the action on board the boat, Vigo not only creates an atmosphere, but also forces the attention onto the characters. Simon's rather exaggerated character is used both to vary the pacing when appropriate, and to respond to the traits and actions of Jean and Juliette. The photography and the score are also used to round out the picture.

It may be true that the film is sometimes over-praised, but in large part that is simply an over-reaction to the unfortunate lack of attention that this kind of classic must so often endure. In an era when so many very weak recent movies have received regular television airings, special edition DVD's with all kinds of pointless "extras", and undeserved critical acclaim, it's all too obvious that movies requiring more effort to appreciate are too often ignored entirely.

Many recent romance movies have tried to use lavish production values, disaster or crisis settings, trendy techniques such as "non-linear" story-telling, and other such devices to cover up a lack of substance. Movies as different as "Titanic" and "The English Patient" (just to name two of many possible examples) use such methods in an attempt to pass off a romantic couple as heroic or admirable, when the characters in actuality are usually self-absorbed, vapid, and truly less worth caring about than Vigo's Jean and Juliette are.

Jean and Juliette, like most of us, know that they are not important in the grand scheme of things, and they are probably rather well aware of their own weaknesses. They are neither saints nor sinners, neither victims nor heroes, they are just human, and therefore worth caring about. "L'Atalante" itself is not "the greatest movie ever made", especially since there is no such thing anyway, but it is a thoughtful and carefully crafted classic that stays with you well after you have seen it.