Few directors have exerted an influence so large with a body of work so small as French director Jean Vigo, who died of tuberculosis in 1934 at the age of 29. This oeuvre, less than three hours of cinema in total and essential viewing for any aspiring cinephile, comprises two short films, along with mid-length Zéro de conduite (1933) and his sole feature, L’Atalante (1934). As befits a filmmaker so young, the work is vibrant, filled with youthful energy and resolutely anti-authoritarian; what marks Vigo’s films apart is the underlying maturity that couches this anarchic spirit in tenderness and poetry. His work has a unique tone, as if recalling youth with crystal clarity through the lens of age. These are films of lyrical beauty, and offer a tantalising glimpse of the career and artist that might have been.
