Director/Writers: Jean Vigo/Jean Guinée, Albert Riéra
Director of Photography: Boris Kaufman, Louis Berger, Jean-Paul Alphen
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024844/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Atalante
Video/Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBmahA-JyO4
Summary (from IMDB): When Juliette marries Jean, she comes to live on his ship, on board of which are, besides the two of them, only a cabin boy and the strange old second mate Pere Jules. Soon bored by life on the river, she slips off to see the nightlife when they come to Paris. Angered by this, Jean sets off, leaving Juliette behind. Overcome by grief and longing for his wife, Jean falls into a depression and Pere Jules goes and tries to find Juliette. Written by Leon Wolters.

My take: I warmed up to this film about half way into it. The making of the movie is fascinating – the director died shortly after shooting it and it was re-edited years later to match what he would have wanted in the first place. I also find the premise intriguing – a man and woman marry, then spend their first days on a ship which evokes a feeling of suffocation, confinement, loneliness, even in the arms of someone who is suppose to bring you peace and fulfillment.

I watched this with “A Woman Under the Influence” which probably wasn’t the smartest idea since I had my fill of wife-beating. I know it happens all the time, then and now, but it makes it difficult for me to appreciate the man’s internal struggle compared to the woman’s. Understanding both characters’ turmoil equally is vital to appreciating the piece so for me, the hitting took away from the work. Yeah, yeah, maybe that’s flawed thinking but I have zero patience for abuse no matter where it occurs on a timeline.