Atonement - Le Quai des Brumes

In "Le Quai des Brumes" (1938), Jean is a miltary deserter who is delirious for the beautiful Nelly. In the film's climax, a ship is leaving for Venezuela and at least one of them can be on it - or is that just a dream?


In "Atonement" (2007), Robbie Turner is delirious with sickness and love when he wanders among the ruins of Dunkirk, France just as the famous wartime evacuation begins to take place. "Le Quai des Brumes" is being projected onto a wall as Robbie stumbles in. At first we just see his silhouette in an ear at left, but suddenly he is face to face with the apparition of a beautiful woman and he is momentarily captivated. When the woman falls into a passionate kiss with her onscreen love, Robbie turns his gaze downward; it is more than he can bear. In the last few moments, he hangs his head and covers his face; his entire figure becomes vulnerable and small as it is swallowed up in the screen behind him. The scene seems to consume his last fiber of being as the breathless whispers of passion take on a distorted sound, buzzing in his ears, as well as ours in the audience. For a moment, we the audience also experience the feeling of actually being IN the filmsert when "Le Quai..." fills our own theater screen and poor Robbie is left standing on OUR stage in lifesize scale.