L'Atalante

This simple love story involves a young barge skipper who installs his new wife on his barge which he works with an older man, Jules. The marriage falters and the wife deserts him in Paris. The film’s reputation and influence stems from the way Vigo injects an imaginary dream-like quality into more conventional passages of lyricism and the direct portrayal of working class life. In contrast to the couple the exotic, tattooed figure of Jules was a focus for Vigo. The intensity of the emotions and the strangeness of the images has been variously labelled ‘poetic realism’ and ‘surreal lyricism’. Cast includes Michel Simon, Dita Parlo and Jean Daste. In French with English subtitles. This restored version includes an additional 8 min. of footage.