FILM-MAKERS OF OUR TIMES
If you'd told him there'd be a 'Vigo Prize' after his death...
...he would have laughed
Gilles Margaritis. now a TV director...
...shot L'Atalante with Vigo 30 years ago
Pierre Merle. his assistant...
...was Jean Vigo's assistant 30 years ago
- Go on - What are we doing?
Take it from page 74
Albert Riéra...
...a TV director today...
...was also Vigo's assistant 30 years ago
He had a little team
And I think that all the people in that team were alike
They had similar personalities - Pierre Merle, Riéra, Jean Painlevé
All the people around Vigo were like him. They resembled him
He was good-looking
He had cheeky, laughing eyes
So vivacious
He was charmingly rude
He left extraordinary memories...
...of vitality, tenderness and kindness
But also of cruelty for whatever he disliked
The way he held his head
He had an enormous amount of hair
A great prankster
He and Dasté came to my mother's for dinner dressed as old ladies
Great sense of humour
He loved having fun
He was a very tender man, even if he could be crueI
He was full of life...
...and tenderness for others
Very tolerant of others' ideas
He's still here
Let go
I was only saying...
Bugger off
BUGGER OFF!
Saying Vigo was Almeyreda's son...
...means nothing and everything
You probably know about Jean Vigo's father
When he was 14 or 15, he came to Paris
Naturally he was revolted by such an unfair society
He became an anarchist...
...and, under the name Almeyreda, became a brilliant journalist
A polemicist who was also an anarchist at the time
He wrote for 'La guerre sociale' and became its editor
He had a lot of influence...
...on the trade union and the anarchist groups of the time
You couldn't think about Almeyreda without thinking of Don Quixote
He had the same appearance, personality...
...and excessiveness
He really was...
...a Don Quixote
He was very enthusiastic. taking part in every demonstration
For instance, Jean told me about the time when Jaurés was killed
He was at the Café du croissant with his father...
...and Jaurés was sitting opposite them
They heard a shot and saw Jaurés collapse on the table
Jaurés' body was laid out on a bench
Little Jean Vigo was sitting there
And seeing that body had a big impact on him
Jean Vigo followed his parents everywhere
They were both activists...
...and thought nothing of taking him to meetings
Jean went everywhere of course
I suppose he lived...
...almost like an abandoned child
He was always disappearing in the summer
SeveraI times a week he'd go and sleep in the ruins...
...and turn up at ten the next day
He had a mother and a father
But their work left them little time to look after their young child
There was talk of peace with Germany...
...and Almeyreda totally agreed with that
There was a great conflict between two sides
The nationalists who claimed to be the true voice of France
And those who wished to lessen the senseless horrors of war...
...or even bring about a white peace
The nationalist Léon Daudet led a fierce campaign...
...against those he called 'defeatists'
In those circumstances Almeyreda didn't stand a chance
No more than Malvy or Caillaux who also favoured a white peace...
...or at least an agreement with certain Germans...
...with a view to ending the war
The outcome was predictable
Not that Almeyreda would die in prison, but that he'd be arrested
He was accused of spying and arrested
He was found strangled in his cell
In 1917, Jean Vigo's father's death in prison prompted two theories
One was suicide...
...because he'd been found hanged by a shoelace tied to the bars of his bed
The other was that he'd been killed to stop him saying things...
...the government wouldn't have liked
I think he was killed
That was the generaI feeling
He was such a fighter...
...that I'm sure he wouldn't have given up just like that
Vigo was given a testimony which he believed was true...
...and said Almeyreda had been strangled
He knew his father had been strangled in prison...
...and by whom
Jean Vigo went through all that
For a 12-year-old boy, it's horrific
The worst thing was...
...he was held in contempt by society. He was the spy's son
He was turned away by Parisian schools
He went to Millau under a false name
No Paris schooI would have him and he became great friends with Caussat
Millau. 1964
BrueI, Caussat...
Nought for conduct. You're grounded this Sunday
The actor wasn't like me physically
But I knew Vigo wanted a name...
...so he used one of his friends' names in the film
It wasn't just me. He used our friend BrueI's name too
Who's there?
- Caussat - Bruel
Our schooI was typicaI of provinciaI schools then
It was a bit run down and uncomfortable
The classrooms had small charcoaI heaters
The dormitories weren't heated
In the winter, the pipes would often freeze and we'd have to wash outside
But we were philosophicaI about it
Up you get. Quickly
Come on, get up
Are you deaf?
What are you waiting for? Get up
You're such a pain. Leave me alone
Come on, get up
In those days the principaI 'sold' the soup
Schools tried to make as much profit as possible...
...so the menus weren't great
Hello, housemaster
Yes, it's beans. Always beans
I can't keep giving the children beans every day
Beans again!
Yes, we ate beans very often, of course
Not every day, but often
What matters to boarders is supervisors
Caussat and Colin, bring me your books
Don't bother. Nought for conduct. You're grounded this Sunday
Some supervisors were very strict
We feared them and maybe we respected them
They needed to gain our respect. It was the first contact that mattered
Look at him. No fun again this year
Think so?
There's Colin
The holidays are over
The housemaster...
...is there to give the boarders a hard time
We had terrible supervisors who could barely read
There was one who drank and another who loved messing around
When we went for walks, we broke the porcelain tops off poles along the way
And he helped us
Go and sit down. Go on
I recognized our chemistry teacher...
...by his obesity, his size
The resemblance is uncanny
How witty
But I don't like it. I don't like it at all
There was a group who smoked in the toilets...
...and passed cigarettes around
They were precious and had to be shared
You know what it's like at schooI when someone has a girlfriend
I'll stay with Mum. You go and see your tart
You probably know how René Lefévre introduced Jean Vigo to Nounez
I was being driven back from the races at Auteuil
In the car was a racehorse owner...
...I vaguely knew, whose name was Nounez
I knew René Lefévre who had horses...
...with a coach in Maisons-Laffitte like me
What's interesting...
...is how we met through racing
He had racehorses, so did I. We both had very few
He wasn't a major owner
We had a friendly relationship. He was a pleasant man to talk to
One day, after Auteuil...
I asked René Lefévre...
...whether he knew a particularly interesting young film-maker
In the car of a friend who was driving us home, he said...
..."the conditions you have to work in are appaing
"A scriptwriters are stupid
"You can't stagnate in this form of cinema
"It's always the same boring stories. I've stopped watching films
"Isn't there a film-maker who can shake this apathy...
"... and take us to new horizons?"
He said: "If you know a film-maker who can do it...
"... I' gladly invest some money"
I said: "I do know of one"
"I've seen his film...
"... 'A propos de Nice'
"It's remarkable"
He suggested Vigo
I had the immediate impression...
...that he was a deeply idealistic...
...and extremely sensitive man
He was also a man of great subtlety
He left a remarkable impression on you
A rare impression
We'd only ever talked about horses and suddenly cinema came up
It lasted about five minutes. It's not far from AuteuiI to Porte Maiot
We showed him 'A propos de Nice'
He said: "There's a man with sharp vision who reay is a film-maker"
He wasn't wrong
He didn't seem so interested in film...
...that he'd risk a great sum, but he didn't hesitate and he was right
My memories of my dealings with Vigo...
...are some of my greatest memories and sources of satisfaction
If I had to do it a over again, I would without the smaest hesitation
To my great surprise, soon after I read in the papers...
...that Vigo was going to make 'Zéro de Conduite'
And Riéra, Jean's cousin...
...phoned me and said: "Jean's going to make a film
"He's found a sponsor through you apparently, someone caed Nounez"
And we had the pleasure to see 'Zéro de Conduite'
We picked most of the boys in the Parc Montsouris
He saw them in the street
He foowed them and asked their parents' permission
They came from his neighbourhood
The weirdest thing was that when he ran after the boys...
...he said to me: "It's annoying. I look like a homosexuaI
"People wi wonder what I'm doing recruiting little boys. It's annoying"
I said: "No, I don't think so"
He said some people had asked: "What do you want with these boys?"
Pierre and Jean were childhood friends
They understood...
...each other implicitly. They had the same humour and way of thinking
The same tenderness
I went back to the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, my old schooI
I went there at recess to try and recruit some friends
I just worried they'd think I was a pupiI and stop me leaving
Do you want me to ground you?
Robert Le Flon played 'Péte-Sec', the strict supervisor
The others were friends or people Vigo had met by chance
For instance, the housemaster, 'Gas-Snout'...
...was the manager of his building
The manager who lived downstairs had come up during the night...
...and asked: "Please don't be so loud"
Vigo, who owed two months' rent...
...said: "Ah, it's you. Perfect timing"
And he picked him to play the housemaster
He was very leveI-headed, calm and a bit shy
But Vigo convinced him to play that part
Young Lefévre was picked because he had the right face
Jean must have met him in the street
He'd noticed him, spoken to him and taken him on
He had problems saying his lines
But Vigo wasn't too particular about that
He'd te him what to say, but if it wasn't exactly right, it didn't matter
His tone was quite unusuaI in 'Zéro de Conduite'
The way he said things was unusuaI
Stop going on about Tabard
BrueI wants him to join us
Tabard's a sissy
He's different since he saw the principaI
I te you he's a sissy. What good is he?
We a had lunch together - cast and crew...
...in the back of a grocer's shop in the Rue de la Viette
They used it as a restaurant for friends
The owner's wife played Mére Emile
She did what she did at home: cooking
Our friend Henri Storck was beautifuy dressed as a priest and it suited him
The principaI is coming
The principaI is here
Vigo and I wondered...
...to which actor we would give the part of the principaI
He couldn't resist it. I tried to dissuade him, but he said: "No, reay"
And he gave Delphin the dwarf the part without teing Gaumont
The directors of Gaumont were there
And we saw Delphin with his jacket and beard trying to put his hat up
"Is that Delphin playing the principaI?"
"Yes, it is"
They were a bit shocked, but it was too late
It was schooI boys' cinema...
...compared to what was being made at the time
It was the time of...
...'La Bête Humaine', the train engine driven by...
- Jean Gabin - Yes
Vigo appeared like a young man dabbling in film-making
He was a young man making films for fun
A non-conformist in the margins who would never make it big
That's what's so strange
It was just the same with Rimbaud
I'm sure no one took Rimbaud seriously untiI much later
There are a lot of people who become great men having started sma
He loved practicaI jokes
He had such vitality and joie de vivre
But, at the same time, he had a hardness, a cruelty...
...typicaI of children
He wasn't much older than the children with whom he made 'Zéro de Conduite'
He looked like one of the older boys
What mattered was the extraordinary atmosphere...
...produced by the children on the shoot
They were dominated by his personality
They weren't doing it to show off. They were reliving their own actions
Vigo himself felt like a child again
I can sti see Vigo playing footba with the children
It came naturay to him. He wasn't doing it to keep them
He acted with them as if he'd been in the story himself...
...as if he'd been part of the gang
As if he'd been leading...
...the fight or the chase taking place
The most amazing thing I saw at the Buttes-Chaumont studios...
...was the children running wild
We'd been shooting the piow fight
The boys were attacking spectators and friends who'd come to watch...
...and slapping them with their shoes. What a brawI
I remember Gonzague-Frick, the supervisor
The children were manhandling him, jostling him, I can't remember exactly
They were hitting him...
...because he stood for authority
Jean reay went for it. You could feeI it
The children were delighted. And Vigo was thried to see them get into it
They never hit hard enough for him. He kept egging them on
"Go on, hit it"
He was breathless and exhausted
He wanted to speak, but he'd become croaky
I kept thinking he wouldn't last untiI the end
So I grabbed him affectionately but firmly and said...
..."Take it easy, you're ruining your health"
We told the children to be carefuI with the piows
It went on for a month
But in the end the children became overfamiliar with us
It was a a big joke. We had to shout to get anything out of them
They had to be contained sometimes...
...or they'd have become uncontroable or gone missing
The chase in the streets of Saint-Cloud...
...with Dasté going one way and the boys the other nearly happened for reaI
The children were becoming unbearable and playing jokes on Delphin
Delphin would get upset...
...and complain to Vigo who couldn't do much about it
Those children had never made a film
They were thried but I had to keep running after them
My most vivid memory is of Vigo on the roof with the children
I missed the opportunity of a lifetime there
Vigo wanted me to play the governor
I wore a monocle in those days, which impressed Vigo
He'd told me I was the ideaI person...
...to play the governor
I couldn't do it. I' always regret it
He chose Gonzague-Frick who looked more like a governor than I did
He was the right age and had been wearing a monocle for far longer...
...so he looked more assured
With Kaufman, Vigo was running wild
He was running on the roofs, very close to the edge even
And I kept saying: "CarefuI. You' fa"
His hair was disheveed and he was shouting: "Go on, hit it"
That's what he was like
I don't like the expression, but I' use it anyway. He'd let off steam
At last he'd vented a his pain
About that sequence, I said: "They're going to cut it out
"This is your first film. You should make aowances
"You' make others
"When you're established, you can do what you like"
He gave me a tragic look
He said: "You're in good health, you have time
"But I don't have time, so I have to do this now"
I gave him complete freedom
I liked what he did and didn't have any problems with it
But I knew it wasn't to everybody's taste
The first time we showed the film to professionals...
...was at L'Artistique in the Rue de Douai
The Prévert brothers were there among others
It seemed like a prestigious screen
'The Battleship Potemkin' had also been presented there and caused a stir
Vigo's friends were there
But Franco Film Aubert Productions had also invited people...
...likely to buy the film and the sort of people who attend film premiéres
There were cinema owners
There were a lot of middle-class people
I'd invited people I knew...
...who were middle or upper middle-class
I'd invited them to be nice to them
But they probably got a right earfuI later
We're waiting. Te us what you have to say
Te us
Bugger off, sir
It would be hard not to remember that
I've been to many film premiéres and both of us have seen...
...lots of eventfuI scenes
But this one was particularly eventfuI
People couldn't take it. They were horrified
People were shouting and booing
I've never seen anything shouted down like that
People were shouting: "It's scandalous"
But there were also enthusiasts
The supporters applauded and the others reacted with terrible violence
I'd tried to mobilize...
...a few famous or iustrious coeagues
The only one I can remember is Gide
We'd been very concerned...
...about the effect 'Zéro de Conduite' might have...
...on these great inteectuals
Instead of attending the premiére...
...I'd stayed in the ha
Maybe I thought some of them might leave before the end
And Gide did. The film wasn't very long, but he didn't stay
When he saw me, he came to me and shook my hand without a word...
...just like you do at a funeraI
There were also many who congratulated him - strangers and friends
No one expected the film to be received so badly
It was like a wave of hatred when the film was shown
It was clear that...
...after those incidents...
...the censors' certificate would be hard to get
In those days and throughout history, the censors...
...were liberaI about sex
About politics, they were less liberaI with every Ministry intervening
One censors a film because it mentions the defeat of the French at a battle...
...which had been known as a victory
Another moans because a fireman is smoking under a no-smoking sign...
...and the Ministry of the Interior intervenes
There are lots of reasons why a film can be banned almost in its entirety...
...if it doesn't toe the line
A lot of hatred was directed at Vigo
And I was associated with it
The film didn't get its certificate and wasn't released
I had a few contacts which helped me approach the people in power
In those days, the government was diffuse
It wasn't the sort of government we have today
So we could maybe hope...
...to obtain something
But in that diffuse government, no one would take responsibility
I was left under no iusion as to the likelihood of obtaining the certificate
Nounez, the producer, was a very honest, lucid and brave man
He had to fight with Gaumont...
...who had wanted to censor the film
We would have had to edit out a lot of scenes
Nounez had led them into a trap
The film didn't at a reflect the ideologies of film producers
The film industry depended heavily on distributors...
...and screen owners
Screens often belonged to former garage owners...
...who'd failed in their own trade
A these cinema owners...
...were very concerned about upsetting their audience
They wanted to please everyone
If a film was likely to cause even the smaest incident, they refused it
But when he wanted to make 'Zéro de Conduite'...
...Vigo wasn't trying to please people
He was trying to make satire...
...and I think he succeeded completely
With Gaumont, there was just an agreement...
...for the studios and film, which was common then
Gaumont provided the studios and film...
...and when the film was released things were shared out
But we didn't get that far
The censors banned the film
For Nounez, the producer...
...it was a huge loss
We thought he'd lose interest in Vigo. But he didn't
I couldn't continue on a financiaI leveI
It would have been a disaster for me
But I couldn't dissociate myself from Vigo
He wanted to make a lot of films with a sociaI, human content
He often talked about 'The Battleship Potemkin'
And he'd say: "Let me shoot something... "
He loved big subjects in film
He often said: "If we shot the fire of the Reichstag, it would be something"
Inevitably, he was given a script...
...which was deliberately innocuous
In the end, we picked this film...
...this indisputably soppy script
That was 'L'Atalante'
One day he asked me over and said: "I've lost a lot of money with Vigo
"But never mind. He's very talented and I know what he needs
"He needs a very innocuous script...
"... on which he can work his genius
"And the censors won't be able to do anything"
It's the simple story of a young barge captain...
...who marries a young peasant with dreams of the city
She meets a pedlar who talks up the city and she leaves
The barge captain is very unhappy, but she comes back. That's it
That's the story
That script was meant to calm Vigo down
They thought they were safe
The script was caed 'L'Atalante', like the barge
The scriptwriter's grandfather had ordered a frigate...
...caed 'L'Atalante'
That's why he caed the film 'L'Atalante'
When Vigo read the script he said: "What am I supposed to do with that?"
"It's for youth clubs. There's nothing there"
I said: "I agree with you, but...
"It's a banaI story, but it a depends on the way you te it"
He said: "Of course" and his eyes lit up
We spent nights at the Parc Montsouris
And we told the story
We thought about the characters
And we came up with Pére Jules...
...this sailor who's traveed the world
That wasn't in the script and we had great fun
Vigo imagined Pére Jules' whole life
He pictured him in Caracas, on the seven seas...
...and then landing on a barge
Who could play him? I suggested MicheI Simon. He said: "You think he would?"
From the minute we met we realized...
...we felt the same way...
...about film-making
Our ideas were in complete opposition...
...to those of right-thinking people who wanted to make films
He wanted Dita Parlo and we agreed
She was adorably blond...
...with a slight Berlin accent
I didn't know the director
He was charming and exceptionay charismatic
He was inexplicably naturaI and unaffected
It's difficult to talk about Vigo
Whatever you say about him...
...only goes to show that you can't explain Vigo's personality
I'm not exaggerating
I said: "Who wi write the dialogue?
"We need an inteigent, sensitive writer and there aren't many"
I was reay happy and overwhelmed when he replied...
..."Write what you like. It can only be better than what a writer would do"
Don't just say yes. What is it you do?
- I go to the bride... - And what do you say?
Welcome to happy days aboard L'Atalante
- Right. And the flowers? - In the bucket
Wrap them up in paper or they' soak her dress
Here they come
The string!
You cretin. You've reay done it now
Give me that
- And the flowers? - I' buy some more
It's too late. They're coming
I'd known a character like that...
...who was always saying whatever came into his head
Not many ideas came into his head and when one did, he milked it
One critic concluded...
...that I had such a job understanding Vigo's explanations...
...that I repeated them two or three times because I was a bit obtuse
Hurry up. hurry up
Don't fa in. Wrap the flowers up in paper
Welcome to happy days aboard L'Atalante
God has forgotten us
Vigo insisted on the cats
He wanted to bring to the barge an unusuaI element
It reay was Jean's idea
He'd imagined that Pére Jules loved cats and picked them up on his travels
So he asked Pierre Merle who was amazing
And Pierre made a point...
...of finding a these cats
He brought us about 20
We asked a the concierges in the neighbourhood
The kittens were hard to find. It wasn't the right season
But we found cats that were sma enough
It was Pierre who took care of them
We didn't have time to cook
So I fed them raw meat from the butcher's. It made them a bit hyper
They were in a cage and I don't know whether they'd just been fed...
...but when it was time to let them out, they were ferocious
We were a bit scared
I remember when I was shooting...
At one point, Vigo wanted me...
...to step on onto the barge and trip
And he just had to throw cats in my face
He was in one corner, his assistant in the other
They held two cats by the necks
I had to trip, get up again and have these cats thrown in my face
I was scared they'd scratch my eye
They weren't trained cats. They were just pets
With Vigo, you couldn't say no
The way they threw those cats! It was awfuI
The cats' owners weren't happy because we hadn't looked after them properly
We'd done our best
It was stupid
I'd say: "They're unhappy. Cats need care and affection"
But no one listened
Oh, Darling's had her kittens
On our bed!
I'm not the father
Out or I' drown them
He'd drown his own kid
Come on, don't stay with these animals
If people who visit me won't see my cat, dog or monkey...
...but go on about Bernard Buffet...
...I show them the door
Stop puing my leg
I'm easy-going, but I'm no pushover
That's enough. Since you're so clever, put on this skirt
A skirt?
You can help me do the hem
The hem?
It suits me. How do you fasten it?
That's enough. Keep sti
I can't fasten it. How do you do it?
It won't button? Pu your tummy in
You have a nice slim waist
Stop puing my leg
Stand up straight and hold it in place
That's quite enough of that
Dip your arse in the soup...
Stop it or I' jab you
Do you think you're sti in Africa?
Africa? I've been a over the place
Yokohama, Melbourne, Shanghai, Papeete, San Francisco
1903: Dorothy
Singapore, San Sebastián...
You' tear my skirt
We imagined Pére Jules having traveed a over the world
So he'd brought back a knife from Spain...
...a fan and I've forgotten the rest
Vigo wanted a puppet so I went to my uncle's
And we found some old things
He liked them so much he added the puppet scene
I' show you my puppet
I found it in Caracas after the revolution in the 1890's
I didn't imagine your place like that
It's quite a display, isn't it?
Nothing but the finest things
I said to Jean...
..."For the cabin, I have two hands in a jar"
We laughed and Jean said: "Yes, bring your hands"
I must admit...
...that I wasn't reay keen on having those hands in a cupboard
But Jean said he'd fit some dialogue around them
Is this you?
No, it's a friend who died three years ago
What's that?
His hands
It's a I have left
"It's a I have left of him"
They were the most exciting to watch...
...the scenes set in MicheI Simon's den
These? They're tattoos. I' show you
The tattoos?
I have some reaI ones which weren't shown...
...and are more recent
Tattoos keep you warm
The film had plenty of zany elements
He had a tattoo on his naveI
It had two eyes and the mouth was shaped by the naveI
There was a scene no one wi ever see because it was cut
It's about the tattoo
MicheI Simon shows Dita Parlo his cigarette
And he sticks it in his naveI
He says: "Look at that" and sticks the cigarette in
We forged ahead into this adventure
We accepted the rules
It was inevitable that Simon and Vigo would hit it off
They reay hit it off
Simon loved Vigo. He had respect for him
He listened to him, he helped him
For Vigo, it was easy to work with MicheI Simon
I'd told him I hated to rehearse a scene twice
The second time is always a lie
Few men understand that: Vigo, Renoir, Sacha Guitry
Few directors understand that the second time, it's already a lie
Every time he has to express something important...
...Simon always needs a balanced mind, a certain atmosphere
Or an unbalanced mind, since he's a passionate actor difficult to handle
There were difficult moments because working with MicheI is always hard
He sometimes cried in his dressing-room...
...saying: "I can't do it. I'm a pig"
Jean would go and persuade him
Vigo had such esteem for people...
He had such dedication...
...for every human being, every person...
...that he tried not to direct them
He spoke to the actors beforehand and put them in the mood
But not necessarily the day of shooting
There was an atmosphere of...
I don't know
It's not that it was easy, but it was naturaI
We were put in a situation...
...and had to depict it truthfuy
He wasn't in the habit of saying: "Do what you like, then we' see"
He didn't say: "Don't do that"
We had complete freedom, but constantly watched Vigo...
...to see whether we'd got it right or not
He always told us when it didn't ring true or we made things up...
...or were conventionaI as everyone tends to be...
...out of stage-fright or bad habits
He wasn't the kind of director...
...who perfects inteectuay...
...every little thing. Not at a
He'd say: "That's not it"...
...untiI we found the character's naturaI truth
He was extraordinarily tender before shooting
When I got it wrong, he told me off jokingly
He had a very particular sense of humour
On that film I don't remember Vigo...
...as someone who kept harassing everyone to do this or that
There was no other way and we did it the way we had to
And it matched what we ourselves wanted
You have beautifuI hair
You too, Pére Jules
Hold on. I' give you a parting
You're too kind
It's tickling me
I'm not used to such pampering
What's going on?
Look at a this junk. I've told you ten times to get rid of it
It stinks of cats in here, too
What are you doing here?
- What's that? - Me when I was little
The film gave Gies Margaritis...
...his big cinema debut
He played the remarkable part of the pedlar...
...on the banks of the Seine
There was an embankment so we had to come down it
Otherwise it wasn't funny
So I said: "Let's try it and see what happens"
THE BIRDS ARE INSIDE
As I cycled off, everything went wrong
In the rehearsaI everything got caught in the chain
The bicycle got stuck and I nearly fe in the river...
...with my suitcase, my ties and everything
We loved him, but it was tough
Vigo loved taking risks
It amused him to make me sing because I'd told him I couldn't
But he probably thought...
...singing was in character for the bluffing pedlar
So Charles Goldblatt wrote words to Jaubert's music
The producers had asked for a song
So we made fun of them by writing a comicaI song with Maurice Jaubert
I left Paris
You're so pretty
You're pretty too
It's been a long journey to the city. You're wonderfuy pretty
Mothbas sme so good
I wrote that for a laugh
I don't know if you remember the words
The song was fu of bad puns
My little babe in the wood
For him I have combs. For her there is lace
Some pretty postcards and some a disgrace
I've elephants and whales for a child that wails
I'm a pedlar by trade
One day we met up at La Coupole
And he said: "I'm overwhelmed. I've just seen a story... "
I can't remember exactly...
...but he'd been struck by the sound of a man repeating: "Cuckoo"
No obligation. but beware hesitation
Don't miss my new brushes. a help when one flushes
I'd worked very hard at learning the song and they added a verse
My memory is awfuI, so we shot it 30 times
Not that many. Not quite, but about 20 times
There were so many reels it was frightening
We'd sent the producer outside, out of the studio
The more we messed up, the more we laughed. It was crazy
It sti puts me in a cold sweat
How about a stainless steel knife...
...spotless for life?
Poppers to keep panties in trim...
...for her or for him
Don't miss a trick. It's a Paris chic
I forget whether there was a definite script for the dance
We added a few stunts and if there was a fight in the script, we shot it
Is that pedlar here again?
Get out or I' throw you out
Are you leaving or what?
I remember the window stunt. I think Dasté got tired before me
If she's yours, so is the scarf. It's paid for
We shot that scene about 15 times. My back sti hurts
Vigo looked at people in a very lucid way
And he felt revolted...
...by any sociaI injustice
That's what inspired such scenes
The thief snatches the handbag, gets Iynched...
...and has an epileptic fit
The skinny wretch grabs the handbag...
...and then doesn't know where to go with it
The ending was cut although it had a power...
...that even American directors never achieved
Vigo insisted on that scene
The producer deserves a lot of credit...
...for enabling Vigo to make that film
But he sti worried...
...about Vigo's violent and subversive streak
The producer had agreed to provide Vigo with film, but no extras...
...thinking that would stop him and a would end we
"No more money. You're on your own"
We were having drinks and Chavance, Vigo's editor, arrived and said...
..."Jean has a problem with his scene at the Gare d'Austerlitz
"He has the station, but no extras". I can te you he soon had them
I forget...
My brother Jacques was there
Lou Tchimoukoff, the director of the October Group...
...the federation of working-class theatre, played a police officer
He spent a night in extraordinary conversations with reaI officers
I remember he spent hours talking to them about infrared
And they listened with great interest
There were about 30 of us
Wasn't it Pierre Prévert?
- It was me - That's it
I had a little grey hat and an overcoat
It was quite an amazing creation
Stop thief!
That character was exactly right
The poor man who steals because he's hungry...
...and is then Iynched by an idiotic crowd
We shot that scene without teing anyone
I was dressed as a little old man and suddenly...
Vigo had to use the gates
Riéra understood immediately that he had to do something with those gates
A fast tracking shot
That was 'cinéma-vérité'
One day it started snowing, which wasn't expected at a
He was suddenly struck by inspiration
He was almost happy about that snow
He caed Pierre and me and said...
..."I don't care how you do it, but I need 25 extras right now"
I didn't even know why
I feeI that Vigo...
...enjoyed surprises
Vigo lined up the 25 extras outside some closed factory gates...
...like unemployed workers
I found that scene very striking
The unemployed... It's always struck me
NO HIRING
It was very odd
When he was inspired...
...he walked faster, his eyes looked back and forth
And suddenly he'd freeze, decide on the camera angle and explain it to us
He didn't te me to do this or that
He said: "Walk thinking you're looking for work and you have nothing
"A the jobs are taken
"So walk and hold yourself like this. " That's a
Some directors say: "Take sma steps
"Put your arms like this and your shoulders a bit like this"
"Do you understand?"
Vigo didn't do that
He just said: "Walk like this". That's a
So you had to guess and give it a try
The shooting struggled on in atrocious conditions
In the middle of winter on the Seine it was terrifying
Jean Dasté dived at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine...
...in October
It was cold, but possible then
But the scene was lost and had to be reshot
We reshot it in December or January
The CanaI St-Martin had frozen over
It sounds like a joke, but it's true. The barge was caught in ice
We broke the ice. It was reay deep
I remember we'd put the barge captain on a boat
Dasté had to dive...
...and come back up
We had to get the scene right
Dasté was about to dive...
At that point, Vigo or the producer said...
..."Make sure it's not in the shot, but put in a pole...
"... to help him get out of the water"
I had to dive from a height of about two or two and a half metres
So Vigo gave his instructions
"You dive and come back up"
Before I dived, I heard the boatman say: "If he comes back up"
He said: "Jump" and Dasté did
That was the charm of working with Vigo
It was always like that
The skipper's jumped in the water
- He's jumped in the water? - Yes
He jumped? Where? Are you sure you saw him jump?
We had lots of ideas for scenes. We were never short of them
But we never had the time
Kaufman kept faing asleep. Do you remember?
We kept giving him coffee because at eight, we had to change the set
We'd been up a night and I was working the foowing night
We always sent one or two people...
...to wake him up so he wouldn't be late
At times our great actor and friend MicheI Simon felt melancholic
He'd become reay sad and refuse to shoot
So we'd go and get some friends to cheer him up
There were two little girls who loved films
I said: "If you love the cinema, help me finish this film. I can't any more"
So they took it in turns to stop me faing asleep
I'm not joking. We were dropping from exhaustion
Vigo was always devoured by an inner fire
He wasn't in good health
So shooting in these difficult conditions...
...didn't help...
...his work
But his energy was...
...boundless
He was carried by his idea. He felt or saw nothing
He thought he was indestructible
He was charmingly stubborn. He knew what he wanted...
...and he couldn't care less if it kied him
Besides, he didn't know he was seriously i
He was in very bad health, but pushed himself to the limit
He seemed asleep on his feet and on the edge...
...but cheerfuI at the same time. Exhausted but cheerfuI
That's what kept him going: his mind
He said: "I don't want to end with the traditionaI kiss"
He'd found a table that could topple over and said...
..."Right, I thought of this last night because I don't want a boring ending"
"You' sit on the table, it' topple over and you' fa"
Pére Jules has brought her back
THE END
Once the film was finished, I watched it with Jean Vigo
I felt it was 300 metres too long
For the rhythm, it needed cutting
Jean said: "I think you're right, but I can't see anything any more"
"I' go to the mountains for a month
"Then we' have another look and maybe we' cut it"
He came back i and didn't see his film again
I watched it with Nounez and Chavance
We watched the whole thing
I said: "I think it needs cutting by 200 or 300 metres"
Nounez was very enthusiastic and said: "No, it's a masterpiece. Don't cut it"
I didn't want to be more Catholic than the Pope
Chavance didn't support me
So we showed L'Atalante...
...at the Rochechouard Palace...
...to cinema owners at ten o'clock in the morning
No one among the producers or others had forgotten...
...the problems with 'Zéro de Conduite'
So I can't say there was a reaI desire to be pleasant
The film was unusuaI so they were shocked
Every time the film slowed down they coughed
But the film drew them in again. It was like that untiI the end
I met up with Gies Margaritis who said with his great sense of humour...
..."Let's run or we' get beaten up"
Gaumont said...
..."It needs cutting and it won't be a success. It's not popular enough"
At the time there was that famous song...
...'Le Chaland Qui Passe" sung by Lys Gauthy
Night has faen. the river bank blurs and fades
On the way only an inn blinks its green eyes
The barge glides relentlessly on satin waters
Where is it going? Towards which dream?
Which uncertain fate?
Let us think of nothing
The current...
...makes wanderers of us always
On my barge. cast off from a jetty...
...love may have embarked
Tonight let us love without dreaming...
...of what tomorrow may change
The stream is no place for vows
Only on land...
...are lies told
It was a very popular song at the time
Changing the title from 'L'Atalante' to 'Le Chaland Qui Passe'...
...wasn't Nounez' idea. It was Gaumont's
It was no big deaI, was it?
It wasn't a bad song
It fitted quite we with the story
You have to look at a facets of cinema...
...with flexibility
I didn't like that song
I'm not talking about the singer
I wouldn't aow myself to express any opinions about her
I just didn't like that song
So nothing attracted me...
...to a change of name from 'L'Atalante' to 'Chaland Qui Passe'
That was entirely Gaumont's wish
And I'm certain that Nounez...
...defended Vigo's film
He wanted to keep Jaubert's music, but he wasn't boss any more
We resigned ourselves with no enthusiasm
Gaumont's sales department...
...had probably asked the opinions of the distributors...
...and various cinema owners
Gaumont insisted on making 'L'Atalante' a commerciaI film
They caed it 'Le Chaland Qui Passe' after the popular song of the day
They thought that the new title would ensure a far greater success
So they changed the title and the music
They changed Jaubert's wonderfuI music
Jean wouldn't sign off the film after that
I think there were some unsigned copies
He was very i anyway
Jean Painlevé phoned me one day and told me...
..."Jean's on the way out"
I consulted severaI specialists, even an Austrian scientist
He tried everything, but it was only a matter of time
He had such vitality he couldn't accept his iness
A his friends went to see him without teing him he was dying
We were a rather cheerfuI when we went in
And deep down, he knew he was dying...
...but didn't want to show it
'Le Chaland Qui Passe' came out...
...on the Champs-Elysées
As a sign of protest, we didn't go
We would only have shouted which was no use
Vigo asked his wife and me to go...
...and watch it and give him our impression
Naturay our impression could only be disastrous
It reay wasn't in the spirit of Vigo
It was too long in places...
...and the cuts were too sudden
The story was difficult to foow
You could hear Lys Gautry sing
That theme came back throughout the film
I' play you a tune
'The Tarantea'
When we came back it was impossible to lie
Faced with Vigo's look of lucidity...
...and certainty as to what we were about to say...
...we just couldn't make anything up
They cut the film
I remember they left what was too long...
...but cut the interesting bits
It was a dreadfuI mess
And that didn't do anything...
...for Vigo's morale
I remember on the bed where he lay...
...I told him about 'Le Chaland Qui Passe' and the bad cuts
He said: "What can I do about it?"
"I've worked too hard on that film already"
I can't remember his exact words
But he said something like: "I was reay stupid to give so much of myself
"If I'm dying...
"... it's because I put too much effort into L'Atalante"
"Don't bring it up again"
Despite the greatest and most constant care it was impossible...
...to go back in time
His suffering was such that in periods of remission...
...he would say: "I suffer atrociously a along my spine
"I feeI like a green bean having its thread removed"
His wife would say: "His life is hanging by a thread"
And he would say: "A cable"
His black humour was extraordinary
For a day or two I didn't visit him. I'd already moved
And one night at nine o'clock as I was sitting over there, I coapsed
My wife asked what was wrong. I said: "Jean's dead"
That very moment Dasté phoned to say Vigo had just died
Film director Jean Vigo has died
Jean Vigo. as he reay was
I think when he died...
...was my most painful moment
You came out of the funeral feeling crushed. It was so tragic, so hard
You felt the injustice of fate which claims the life of a man...
...in fu flow and certainly destined for great things
You could feel it was special. We weren't burying just anyone
You pay dearly for freedom and it's very rare
There are about ten free men in the world
Jean Vigo was a free man
He set an example