Last night we started to watch Insignificance (1985), but found it so annoying after a few minutes that we stopped. So we watched L'Atalante, (1934), which professional critics seem to universally adore. I've got to agree with marie_D who found it "choppy rather than impressionistic". It's awfully dated--a lot of the actors mugging as if they were doing a silent movie, and scenes where the cats are supposed to be jumping into the frame look like they're thrown. Other scenes, which the critics seem to like, such as Jean's looking for Juliette's face in the water or the separated lovers carressing themselves, seem contrived. There were a couple of interesting things, though. There's lots of accordion music, suggesting that this was a staple of French music at the time, validating the use of the accordion in vulgar stereotypes of France, although I've been going to France since the 1960's, and never heard it. Also, in one dancing scene, there is a couple of blacks (not African-Americans, but African-French), suggesting that there was less animosity against the blacks in the 30's in France than in the US--although there was some remark about blacks in the movie. And finally, I couldn't figure out what kind of place Juliette is found at the end--a place to listen to new music?

Update
I've been told that one reason that Jean Vigo (who directed L'Atalante) is so popular is that he was an anarchist, or perhaps because he was a bisexual. Similarly, Bob Rafelson's Black Widow (1987), features a strong undercurrent of eroticism between the two women, or even lesbianism, which may well be why our library has it, but it seems pretty pedestrian movie to me. Like Insignificance, it also stars Theresa Russell, but I prefer Debra Winger; it's a shame she hasn't gotten very many good roles. We also saw Kurosawa's Dodesukaden (1970), which was a little too arty for me in places, but watchable.