Jean Vigo

 Jean Vigo




A Propos de Nice (1930)

Zero for Conduct (1933)

L'Atalante (1934)



RANKED:


3. A Propos de Nice (1930)


Taking inspiration from Dziga Vertov's "Man with a Movie Camera," Jean Vigo and Vertov's brother Boris Kaufman shot a short documentary about the lives and inhabitants of French bay city Nice. The images demonstrate the disparity between the upper and lower classes, as the upper-class spend their day in frivolity and boredom while the lower-class struggle in the slums. The images show real people living their real lives while the editing of those images enacts a commentary on those very images. "A Propos de Nice" is an amateur work, for sure. However, it demonstrates the filmmaking prowess of one of France's greatest filmmaking legends.



2. Zero for Conduct (1933)


When Adolf Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, France's Jean Vigo created a film that relished in the rebellion of power. "Zero for Conduct" is a short film about four boarding school students who hatch a plan to revolt against their oppressive boarding school administrators. The film demonstrates the youthful spirit of childhood while also iterating a larger point about our society. The film celebrates disobedience and acting against oppressive authority figures. Not only this, the film uses this theme to rebel against the conventions of the film medium. During the kids' play, Vigo infuses the film with surrealist flourishes, which allows the film to be as unabashedly rebellious as the children are. The film is a reminder to act disorderly, to play and be silly, and to break the rules. Because of these themes, the film was banned across the continent (until 1945) for "creating disturbances and hindering the maintenance of order." 



1. L'Atalante (1934)


Jean Vigo's final film before his death at the age of 29, "L'Atalante," was a poetic work of a visionary would might've had a long and storied career had it not been for his ill demise. It is a film that centers on two newlyweds as they navigate a new and strange life together while honeymooning on the canal barge called L'Atalante. It is a film that is deeply poetic in its visual language and story. The two characters' expectations for life are let down by the natural frustrations that come from marriage, new situations, and the ever-changing nature of what life has in store. The world is a bumpy place and happiness is never granted. Rather, you must find happiness in whatever little circumstances you can. Vigo's "L'Atalante" captures these expressions of life, in all their joys and frustrations. In his final film, Vigo is able to instill this idea through some of the most visually stunning and beautiful moments ever put to film.

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