A Propos De Nice (1930) by Jean Vigo
Sunday, March 31, 1985, 7:30 pm
The Films of Jean Vigo
A Propos De Nice (1929-30), 22 min.; Taris Ou La Natation (1931), 10 min.; Zero de Conduit (1933), 44 min.; L’Atalante (1934), 82 min.
The Cinematheque continues its ongoing retrospectives of key independent filmmakers with the complete films of Jean Vigo, one of the most vital and influential figures of the French cinema. Although he finished only four films before his tragic death at 29, Vigo’s vibrant spontaneity and irreverence have been models for filmmakers ever since. His first two films were documentary collaborations made with Boris Kaufman, Dziga Vertov’s brother. The last two were fictional narratives, shot on low budgets with young crews and mostly nonprofessional actors. Zero… was shot in just 8 days and was inspired by Vigo’s bitter memories of the years he spent in a series of boarding schools. L’Atalante was more naturalistic in style, yet was still severely cut by its producers who feared public reaction to its caustic vision of the bourgeoise.