lemket-74887 When I first heard about this movie (in film school of course), I didn't think it would be very interesting. A "movie" which mostly consists of still images and a narrator telling a story. Sounds like a combination of a comic book and an audio-book, right? Well, then I saw it and was mesmerized. Even if you know the story this hits me emotionally, every time I see it. Scary and incredibly beautiful at the same time. "La jettée" is probably called a movie, because we don't have a better word to describe what it actually is. For me this is as close as art can get to an actual dream, one of those when you are not really sure if you are in a nightmare or something more hopeful. And while the narrative goes on relentlessly, what's really scary and completely unpredictable are the images that come with it. They do not just illustrate the plot but add another layer to it. Being still images this style almost dissects what a movie does 24 times a second, but it is not as cerebral as this sounds, but actually quite engaging and inspiring. Brilliant.Later this was adapted by Terry Gilliam as a movie called 12 monkeys, which is a good and entertaining science fiction movie, but la jettée is a unique experience.

Musashi94 At first, it doesn't seem like a non-documentary film composed entirely of still images and voice-over narration should work. Yet La Jetee not only succeeds, it overcomes its avant-garde background to become a great science fiction film that can appeal even to people who are not necessarily fans of experimental work.Chris Marker, who is in fact best known for his documentary work, has a remarkable eye for composition. All of the images that make up the are beautifully staged and composed. The lighting in particular is wonderful, the blacks and whites have a wonderful contrast with each other. The transitions also feel natural and the zooms and pans help give a sense of movement that avoids the risk of becoming monotonous. This makes you feel as though you're watching an actual moving picture as opposed to just a series of still images. The choral music throughout is also well used and gives the images a haunting atmosphere.In addition to looking fantastic and keeping the viewer's interest, the film also has many profound themes regarding time and memory. The main premise of the film is that a shadowy organization in a post-World War III world are trying to send prisoners back in time in order to save the future. In actuality, they are training them s they can send the prisoners to the future so thy can bring back advanced technology before disposing of them. Such a premise lends itself to many rich interpretations about the structure of society and the cost of human progress.The matter of the protagonist's relationship with a woman from the past also has a transcendent quality with its explorations of memory and its relationship with time and human desire. The fact that such a short film that, admittedly omits most of the details, is a sign of great film-making. The fact that there is so much to analyze about near0universal themes presented in an entertaining experimental fashion makes La Jetee a film that film buffs should seek out.

Hitchcoc This is a haunting 28 minutes. The world has just been through World War III and nuclear weapons have doomed everyone. This takes place in Paris and the city is rubble. Winners and losers (actually all losers) are living underground. The scientists are using the others as Guinea pigs to try to figure out a way to travel back in time and correct the mistakes. One young man is a prime choice to do the job. As his memory is probed he goes back to a moment on a pier (La Jetee) where he tried to see a woman with whom he had fallen in love. He creates a narrative in his mind. What it does is create a kind of loop that will probably prove unproductive. It's probably like the people that will be left after it is too late at some future time, especially if they were complicit in the destruction, desperately trying to come up with a last straw to grasp. What we have, however, is one more shot of cruelty toward the people already victimized. I hope I'm wrong, but I kind of see the whole climate thing and the ozone layer being our World War III. That aside, this picture shows us some of the beauty that was there before the arrogance of some would eventuate our demise and with it the love and kindness that is really what the human condition should be about. I haven't even mentioned how incredibly creative this film is, using black and white still photographs to tell the story. Images of joy and pain and resilience.

Dalbert Pringle Directed by French film-maker, Chris Marker, La Jetee is a horribly dry and uninspired Sci-Fi story which takes place at the onset of WW3.There are no spectacular images in this film. There is no dialogue, either.La Jetee's story is told through tedious narration.There is no live action. It is all just b&w stills whose images are recycled more than once.Thank goodness La Jetee was only 27 minutes long (it seemed to drag on for hours).And thank goodness this sort of idiot concept of film-making didn't catch on.La Jetee's story is neither deep nor philosophical. Although I strongly suspect that director Marker believed himself to be creating a real masterpiece of cinematic intellectualism.For me, the only way to watch this dismally dreary picture was in fast-forward mode.