very rare film



viewer's comments:



- Haunting, yet uplifting

This is a gloriously beautiful film. Jean Vigo was an immense talent born ahead of his time. Seeing this made me want to see the real works of Vigo. I was extremely touched by the love share between Jean an his wife, Lydu. Frain and Bohringer (sp?) have such a natural chemistry as the ill-fated famous couple. It breaks my heart to know how he/they suffered. Yes, he was extremely ill with tuberculosis...and realized he had limited time to realize his dreams as a film-maker, but the true suffering he endured came in the form of the French censors, who banned or butched his work based only on the fact that his father was considered a traitor and an anarchist...so, Jean suffered by association.

Despite his and Lydu's terminal illness, and the prejudices they had to live with, their's is really an uplifting story of undying love, faith, and committment to each other. They lived fuller lives than most of us ever will, experienced truer love than most of us will ever be fortunate enough to have, and realized more of their dreams and goals than most of us could ever hope to. And, Jean did all of this in a life that lasted only 29 years. This movie brings to vivid life the love, losses, tragedies, and triumphs of Jean Vigo and his beautiful wife. It emphasises how important they were to one another.

All in all, this is a true gem of a movie. Beautiful and touching love story, endearing characters through out, excellent and extremely dedicated cast, superbly shot with gorgeous scenery...a film that breaks your heart, but it also lifts you up as well...because of the power of love and the power of believing in one's self. My only complaint is that I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Vigo actually working on his films. They did show this, but more of it would have been very welcome.

Anyway, if you love love stories, or are a fan of Jean Vigo, see this film. You'll adore it.




- Julien Temple's inspired telling of French filmmaker Jean Vigo's passions, beautifully shot and acted, but sadly, overlooked.



Sighhh.....I continue to be dismayed that "Vigo" never did better box office wise, and that more than a couple of critics seemed lukewarm or worse to it. I suppose I did have a positive "chick-flick" reaction to it as a love story. But I only like well done chick flicks!

I think that part of the problem is the pre-set attitudes mainstream film people may have towards Julian Temple. I've seen the documentary he did on the Sex Pistols, and "Absolute Beginners". They both left me scratching my head a bit. I love people who have range and take risks. He is CERTAINLY not a mainstream filmmaker! And yet, "Vigo" is an almost classically made thing of beauty. The cinematography was excellent and at times breathtaking, while never taking away from the flow of action. I was delightfully surprised by that, besides just being blown away by the performances of James Frain and Romane Bohringer especially. They were very well supported by the rest of the cast.

And this nonsense over English actors playing French characters! I've read more than one comment about that. Have you people NO imagination? If so, then stick to the History Channel or read only encyclopedias! Actors "act", they are not all doing reconstructed scenes for "Americas Most Wanted". These actors did a wonderful job at telling their story.

I really think that critics may have gone into this film with their own preconceived notions as to what needed to be said about Jean Vigo (as one may do with any bio-pic), and believed that Julian Temple couldn't deliver it. On it's own, disregarding a campaign FOR something comprehensive on Jean Vigo's career or AGAINST Julian Temple's, I believe that this film is a beautiful love story and a well told tale of a short life full of passion.




Directed by
Julien Temple

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anne Devlin
Peter Ettedgui
Julien Temple

Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification
James Frain .... Jean Vigo
Romane Bohringer .... Lydu Lozinska
Nicholas Barnes .... Casino Croupier
David Battley .... Cinema Manager
Joe Boiling .... Zero Boy
Anna Bolt .... Misha
Christine Burlett .... Hospital Concierge
Jack Capelli .... Zero Boy
Charles Collingwood .... Plain Clothes Policeman
Dean Cook .... Young Jean Vigo
Kenneth Cranham .... The Producer
Marie Dang .... The Venus
Emmanuelle Epstein .... Elizabeth Lozinska
Donald Gee .... Dominican Priest
Jeremy Greig .... Zero Boy
Constant Guerrier .... The Director
Michael N. Harbour .... Studio Manager
Blake Keenan .... Zero Boy
Stephen Kemble .... Protestor
Monique Letitre .... Aunt Lozinska
Gabriel Pamies .... David Lozinska
Brian Pettifer .... Fatman
Hannah Pupkewitz .... Claire
John Quentin .... Sanatorium Official
Joe Roberts .... Tomas
Simon Scott .... Young Doctor
Kay Stonham .... Nurse
Anna Wilson-Jones .... Genya Lozinska
rest of cast listed alphabetically
Francine Bergé .... Mama Lozinska
Paola Dionisotti .... Marie
Vernon Dobtcheff .... Papa Lozinska
James Faulkner .... Dr. Gerard
Adolfo Fernández .... Almereyda
Nicholas Hewetson .... Boris Kaufman
Frank Lazarus .... Nounez
Diana Quick .... Emily
Lee Ross .... Oscar Levy
William Scott-Masson .... Marcel
Brian Shelley .... Maurice Jaubert
Jim Carter .... Bonaventure (uncredited)




Also Known As:
Burning Up (1997) (UK) (working title)
Catching Fire (1998) (UK) (working title)
Vigo, histoire d'une passion (1999) (France)
Vigo: A Passion for Life (1999) (UK)
Runtime: Canada:106 min
Country: France / UK / Japan
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby SR
Certification: France:U