All aboard L’Atalante
as the film opens with the audience being swept away from the wedding ceremony of
young Juliette, a village girl and Jean,
the captain of the French barge holding the name of the film. We begin to sense
the wonder of what a marriage holds as Juliette is thrust into the unknown
world of barge life. The two lovers have no time alone however, as we meet
first mate Pere Jules, a cabin boy and a slew of cats. Their life together is
off to a rocky start. Juliette seems overwhelmed at the conditions aboard L’Atalante. Her surroundings are
cluttered and dirty, cats roam freely among the cabin and Pere Jules will most
definitely be her demise. However, as Paris squawks in on the radio, Juliette
becomes entranced at the promise of adventure and something new. Seeking to
experience the city of light, Jean promises her a night out but old Jules makes
that impossible. Her attitude drastically transforms, as Jean cannot leave the
barge alone while Jules is out on the town. Deciding to move onward without stepping
foot onshore, they arrive in another town where Jean takes her dancing for some
fun. A peddler takes a liking to Juliette and feeds her the unrelenting notion
that she is missing out on life being married to a barge captain. At night, she
decides to forge her own path and catch a glimpse of the peddler’s promise.
Jean departs upon realizing her absence and Juliette returns to find the barge
gone from its slip. Through out the rest of the film, Jean is in a funk while
Juliette experiences the fear and loneliness accompanied with city life. The
two reunite to finish the film after Pere Jules decides to go on a hunt for the
missing bride. The lovers embrace one another as they make eye contact for the
first time since her disappearance and we are left with a happy thought,
knowing that these two will grow grey together aboard L’Atalante.
Looking at this film from a 21st century eye, one cannot help
but be shocked at the intricacies in this 1934 piece. Apart from the occasional
scratch or missing frame, the edits are clean and narrate the story in a modern
fashion. During one sequence in particular, double exposures are made as Jean
makes a hallucinatory swim in the canal searching for Juliette. Adept and
technically advanced, this particular sequence gives light to the techniques
being invented in the early 20th century. The audience is able to experience
the full gamete of mood swings associated with new love through artful, non-diegetic
musical selections. The roller coaster rises and falls as the lovers realize
their need, and want, for each other. The sounds accompany finely tuned camera
work that seems to push the limits on what film was in L’Atalante’s time. Beautifully composed shots make Vigo’s vision
come to life on the silver screen and show why he inspired director’s like
Truffaut to create magnificent works of their own. There were many shots and
setups that took my breath away with their creativity and innovation and for a
moment, I forgot I was watching an almost 80 year-old art film. As a photographer,
I appreciate ingenuity in all forms of shot composition, giving due credit to
the shots that make me say ‘wow’. The
characters also stand out in the film, creating proper juxtaposition that
brings to life a little drama and the necessary uneasiness that gives a film
soul. The one thing I took away from this piece was a new appreciation for
early French film. The progressive notion on what a film is and how to visually
relate a story is spot on in L’Atalante. It
is visible the amount of thought and heart that went into creating this film
and I will hold its message with me for a long while. Love your life and the
one you are with. Love is a give and take situation that requires sacrifice
from all parties involved and you don’t realize what you had until they are
there no more.
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