The ingenious camera angles. Its humanism and humorous quirks? It's hard to pin down exactly what makes Vigo's only feature length movie so special. For his time, he seemed to possess a unique understanding of what makes his characters interesting as well as an inimitable flair for detailing the relations between them. That he wasn't allowed to keep working is, simply, not fair.

The film has a grimey aesthetic to it. You feel like you're on the boat among all the muck which, in turn, makes the poeticism of the film all the more striking, as well as making two moments that break down the realism - a hair raisingly magical underwater sequence, and a scene where Jean and Juliette seem to have have sex with one another though they are apart - all the more effective. Heartwarming and utterly delightful, and also one of the most visually stunning films I have ever seen.

Vigo's magic.

I find it so beautiful and funny that I just can't even describe how I loved this movie.

16

Almost fantastic. The cinematography is light years ahead of its time. The story, however, is simple, plain, and underwhelming.

Not as poetic or moving as I thought it would be, but still good.

#17

More like L'CATalante, I say. This film is filled to the brim with cats, which may occasionally take on some metaphorical meaning, but are probably mostly included for the cuteness factor. It's a really sweet film. It isn't very special or exciting, but it's short, nice and tidy, and you'll feel pretty good about life after watching it. Probably its strongest point is the visual style, which feels way ahead of its time for 1934.

A pleasant enough look at romance, jealousy et al, but nothing that thrilled me. Vigo's attempts to balance comedy and drama aren't quite as successful as you'd hope. I'm not sure what about this warrants its inclusion among the pantheon. It does, however, sport some nice photography, and, at 85 minutes, doesn't overstay its welcome. A nice little film on the whole.

Charming, but also a bit pointless. Would recommend Sunrise, which has a similar plot, to watch instead or if you want to see some poetic realism; then Quai des Brumes is very good.

I can see this movie's worth all the way through, the commentary on society and marriage and all that. Unfortunately, it's told in a rather disjointed way with the emphasis in all the wrong places and the attempt to balance comedy and drama didn't work for me at all. Definitely worth watching but doesn't really hold up as well as it should.

#14