One review on 30 Apr 2022

France 1934

Running time: 89 mins

L'Atalante

Director : Jean Vigo 

Setting: France canals
Original language: French
Summary: Young girl escapes rural village by marrying the captain of a barge passing through on the canal .

Studio: Gaumont


Cast:

  • Dita Parlo  Juliette
  • Jean Dasté  Jean
  • Michel Simon  Pere Jules


Aspect Ratio: 1.37 (Academy)

Colour: Black & White

Sound: Mono

Camera: 35mm

Tech Notes: Camera : 35mm. Mono



First Seen: Sat 30th Apr 2022
Catalogued: 8th May 2022

Synopsis

Juliette marry's Jean the barge captain (working for a barge company) and goes to live aboard together with the cabin boy and the mate Pere Jules and a load of cats.

Bored with life on the canal she longs to visit Paris but when they do circumstances, and Pere Jules, conspire to prevent Jean from taking her out to see the sights. She takes a chance to go out on her own to see the nightlife, but Jean angrily finds out and angrily takes the barge back down river.

At Le Harvre regretting that he has lost her Jean falls into a depression. Eventually Pere Jules goes off to find Juliette (who seems to have acquired a job and a room in the meantime) and brings her back. Jean and Juliette are reconciled and life on the barge goes on.

Reviews

by rogerco on Sat 30th Apr 2022 Streamed proj @ home

An Accidental Classic?

Summary

Difficult to rate as it is so dated, and also apparently a reconstruction from fragments of the original

Full review

As an early talkie the acting style still owes a lot to silent methods, The narrative is a bit disjointed - but this may be due to the director having dies before the editing was complete and the original version having been lost, so what we have is a modern reconstruction/restoration job.

I think if it is a classic it is only because of the accident of it having survived.