Some artists take an entire career, nae an entire lifetime to truly develop their work; find their angle, pursue their vision. Others do it in a single film. Jean Vigo's only feature L'Atalante (made at the tender age of 29 whilst he was slowly dying from TB), packed so much into it's supple, breathless 89 minute frame and consequently serves as one of celluloid's most beautifully busy achievements. Dita Parlo plays Juliette, the smalltown girl married off to Jean (Jean Dasté), Captain of LAtalante; a grubby barge plying the waterways of rural France. Once on board, Juliette is caught between her uncertain love for Jean and her desire to see a world beyond the restrictive confines of the boat. As Vigo's life slipped away whilst filming, he stuffed what on paper seemed like a traditional picture with reference and resonance, fusing groundbreaking visual trickery with an almost tangible sense of ecstatic romance and unexpected moments of harsh social truth. L'Atalante is spontaneous cinema and finds the balance between comedy and tragedy with effortless grace.
Film and UFC obsessive with a passion for scribbling words about them. Avid NFL fan and big Chelsea supporter too.
Film Studies degree graduate from the University of Brighton.
