Even among cinema’s legends, Jean Vigo (1905–1934) stands apart. The son of a notorious anarchist, Vigo had a brief but brilliant career making poetic, influential films, always refusing to play by the rules.
In Jean Vigo’s hands, an unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean, a barge captain, marries Juliette, an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard Jean’s boat, L’Atalante—otherwise populated by an earthy first mate and a multitude of mangy cats—and embark on their new life together. Both a surprisingly erotic idyll and a clear-eyed meditation on love, L’Atalante, Vigo’s only feature-length work, is widely regarded as one of cinema’s finest achievements. We’re presenting the unseen 1934 director’s cut in a new 4K restoration.
Read more about Jean Vigo and his work in these two essays from the Criterion Collection.
L’Atalante: Canal Music by Luc Sante
