The Truth L'Atalante

"One of the supreme masterpieces of French cinema."
ÛJonathan Rosenbaum on L'Atalante
Vigo's classic plus a fine picture by Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot. Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear, Diabolique) was France's master of the bleak thriller. His film The Truth (130 mins.) features Brigitte Bardot in her finest performance as a small-town girl who commits a murder after getting involved in Parisian youth culture of the sixties. With a lively soundtrack ranging from Beethoven to Stravinsky.(1960; 130 mins.)

Voted one of the 10 best films of the 20th century in a Village Voice critics' poll, L'Atalante strikes a sensuous balance between realism and dream-like imagery as it shows a new bride's adjustment to life on a barge with her husband and an old eccentric. Sadly, it was Jean Vigo's only feature-length film. (1934; 89 mins.)