SCREENING FROM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5TH.

Few directors have exerted an influence so large with a body of work so small as French director Jean Vigo, who died of tuberculosis in 1934 at the age of 29. This oeuvre, essential viewing for any aspiring cinephile, comprises two short films, the mid-length Zéro de conduite (1933), and his sole feature, L’Atalante, here given a 4K rerelease.

Working with cinematographer Boris Kaufman, Dziga Vertov’s younger brother, and Michel Simon, star of Jean Renoir’s Boudu Saved From Drowning (1932), the film tells of the tumultuous marriage of Jean (Jean Dasté) and Juliette (Dita Parlo) as they and their crew journey through France on the titular barge. A wonder of lyrical beauty, the film is also a tantalising glimpse of what might have been.

Notes by Kevin Coyne

See Jean Vigo: Three Films – À Propos de Nice; Taris; Zéro de Conduite- on IFI@Home!