Movie: L'Atalante
Artist: Nina Simone
Song: Ne Me Quitte Pas
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"L'Atalante" is about a newlywed couple, Jean and Juliette. Jean captains a boat named the Atalante and its where he brings his new bride immediately after their wedding. However, the two are not alone. Jean also brings along his crew man Jules, a rough and crude man not accustomed to polite company. Juliette grows bored with life on the water and having to share already cramped quarters aboard the Atalante. Juliette craves the city life of Paris and when the opportunity arises, she ventures out against Jean's wishes. When husband and wife are separated, the true test of their love is put in motion and the pull it has on them is made achingly clear.
Nina Simone's rendition of the classic French song "Ne Me Quitte Pas" is a favorite of mine, and before I ever knew the English translation, the heartbreak and yearning for lost love is evident in the way Nina delivers the words. When I watched L'Atalante, specifically the gorgeous image of Juliette slowly turning in a ghostlike underwater dance, this song came to my mind.
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🎵Ne me quitte pas--(Don't Leave Me Now)
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"Don't leave me now. We must forget. All can be forgotten. It escapes already. Forget the time, the misunderstandings, and the moments lost.
We must know how. Forget those hours which killed at times, with each thrust of why, the heart of happiness. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now.

Me, I'll offer you pearls of rain that come from a place where rain never falls. I would mine the earth 'til after my death to cover your body with light and with gold. I'll make a kingdom where love shall be king, where love shall be law, where you shall be queen. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now.
Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. I'll invent for you such nonsense words that you'll understand. I'll speak to you of those lovers there who have seen two times their hearts all ablaze. I'll recount for you the story of that king dead for not having the chance to meet you. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now. Don't leave me now..."