This movie has aged better than its contemporaries.That's because it has no phones in it.It has a broken gramophone and a radio,but no telephones.This beautiful film also teaches us an important lesson:Never abandon your wife in a big and merciless city just because you had a silly argument.

After a simple marriage ceremony, barge captain Jean (Jean Daste) and his naïve bride Juliette (Dita Parlo) begin their life together in the cabin of his ship, trying to come to terms with their differences – she wishing to experience a passing world that she can only observe from the deck of the vessel, he coming to terms with her flirtatious ways and need for cleanliness. Considered a masterpiece by many and undoubtedly highly influential, Jean Vigo's L'Atalante may have trouble living up to its considerable reputation for many viewers. It's filled with and handful of great set pieces and an excellent story that examines the inherent difficulties with making a marriage work, but anyone watching this for the first time expecting something along the lines of Citizen Kane may be disappointed. Keep an open mind and there are treasures to be found in L'Atalante.

This film is quite a light and easy watch, with some amusing characters and even a slight element of surrealism to it ocassionally. I liked the drunk French boatworker (Le pere Jules), even if it is a bit of a stereotype, it was quite silly but enjoyable. I liked the tinkly piano music played in the background at times too. I thought the script was surprisingly poignant, come to think of it. Its a little quirky but certainly an enjoyable and entertaining watch with a nice sort of pace, or feel, to it and so I would recommend it, yes.

A landmark French film and what is considered one of the greatest films of all time, L'Atalante is a masterpiece and shows the talent of Jean Vigo, as it is his crowning achievement. Jean Vigo died making this film due to his poor health and many believe, he in a sense died for cinema itself. What can be said with certainty though, is that the film is a visual masterpiece that is a love story, albeit darker than most in tone, but a poetic and wonderfully filmed piece of cinema that has inspired an untold numbers of Directors! Another essential film to view and as Jean Vigo's only full length feature, a piece of the man and his vision that can be cherished and appreciated decades after his death. This is most definitely a piece of cinema history and is wonderful!

This is the kind of movie someone serious about writing movie reviews may feel a little troubled by. Virtually every review of this movie points out how both hugely influential and beautifully executed it is, they'll say something about Jean Vigo's masterful vision and so on. To the point that, when it comes to watching the film, you feel like you have failed emotionally or intellectually as a human being to not come away from it with the same level of satisfaction that others seem to have found. Or at least represented in type that they have found. Don't get me wrong, I thought the movie was good. From a historical perspective I'm not sure many movies like this had been made before; the romance between the couple at the center of the story is extremely nuanced and believable, there is nothing stagey or contrived about it, no heroes or villains. The boat itself encloses the story and the characters - they are stuck in close proximity to one another with a dark and dreary world passing by, but the promise of Paris and all that entails drives the characters to break through the boundary created by the hull of the boat - particularly Dita Parlo's character, who has traded the enclosure of small village life for the enclosure of the vessel and who longs to see and experience the city of lights. It is a well-crafted, well-shot story. It didn't blow me away, but... I think I can see why it is so influential and appreciate it on that level.

Quite a charming tale of newlyweds and some strange companions on a barge in France. Aged well even if the comedy is lacking. Paris hasn't changed much.

I often struggle a lot with marriage dramas. It’s always kind of depressing for me to see a couple that has such a warm relationship, and then watching it devolve into animosity. That’s basically the entire plot of L’Atalante, and it was tough for me to enjoy it. I get the impression this is supposed to be a comedy, but because I was so caught up in the frustrating drama of the marriage, I wasn’t laughing. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what was meant to be funny in the story. Both the husband and wife drove me crazy, and all I wanted was for them to behave with a little common sense and caring for the other person. But I suppose you wouldn’t have much of a story if both halves of the couple were actually being considerate of the other person’s feelings. You don’t typically make good movies by avoiding conflict. The other main character in L’Atalante was Old Jules, the guy I thought was the captain of the ship for at least 15 minutes or more (and I couldn’t figure out why he was taking orders from this married couple that were going for a ride on his boat.) There’s something kind of creepy about Michel Simon’s performance as Jules, and I never felt all that comfortable with him. I guess he’s supposed to be a lovable oaf or something like that, but he didn’t strike me as endearing. The entire story of L’Atalante is quite simple and could be summed up in a single sentence. That’s not always a bad thing, and I appreciated that the film was relatively short in length as well. It felt a lot like a silent film, and if it had more of the physical gags that I would expect from a silent comedy, then I’d enjoy it more. As it stands, I had a hard time appreciating L’Atalante and its frustrating story.

1001 movies to see before you die. A moving French story about a boatsmen, his crew and his new wife.

Often brilliantly shot, with elements of the surreal, Vigo's ode to tumultuous love in a turbulent, modern setting resonates from both a technical and narrative perspective. The vision required to produce such a film was truly ahead of its time. (4.5/5)

L'Atalante is the type of movie I love--a simple story told imaginatively. It is ultimately carried by the characters. We understand the young bride's cabin fever and her naive yearning to get out and experience the world, as well as her groom's frustration over her behavior. This simple conflict is thoroughly engaging. And who can forget Jules, the eccentric first mate? Great little film.

Nicely romantic, beautifully shot, and propelled by entertaining characters (one of whom is an acquired taste), this is a phenomenon of early French sound cinema.

This is Vigo's 1st feature film, but his fourth and final film overall as he passed away at the young age of 29. This was my 2nd viewing of the film and I appreciated it much more this time, I was also occasionally listening to the commentary. This film was frequently list in the top 10 films all-time in the Sight & Sound poll, and on their 2012 Top 50, it was listed at #12 all-time.It's just a beautiful film that I think was ahead of its time which is why it's last so long, the film is over 80yrs old! A lovely story well told with good acting, and a documentary like feel. It influenced many of the great directors. This film is a MUST for all cinema lovers!

Michel Simon. Head in the water.

http://filmreviewsnsuch.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-complete-works-of-jean-vigo.html

A milestone of French cinema that unfolds like a poem about two lovers beginning a wobbly marriage.

Poetic, yet tiring. The Atlantic is one of those films that have inspired and you are humbled by the power of filmmaking that Jean Vigo possessed.

It has a few very good scenes, but you have to wait an hour to get it. That is asking too much even to the more patient and dedicated spectator.

A compelling surrealistic statement on romance with an inspired performance from Michel Simon.

I can see where the New Wave directors drew their inspiration, the spontaneity and freshness, the scenes which appear to be improvised. Visually it shows cinema coming into its own as an art form though the story of a young woman from a small town marrying a barge captain and thereby experiencing big city life for the first time seems rooted in literary antecedents. This also must be one of the earlier films to prominently feature a lot of cats.

This film has such an interesting and rich history that I enjoy the pure act of reading about it. Watching the film is also an exhilarating experience as it's such an early example of a lot of what makes films so great today. Jean Vigo is definitely and auteur who died way before his time. It's a damn shame because he would have go on to make some great films!