(Fig 1 – poster)
“La Jetée” created
by Chris Marker, is a photo montage with a gripping and inspiring narrative. It
tells a story about the power of memory and time-travel.
Phillip French talks about the film: “Except for one split-second shot, La Jetée unfolds entirely in grainy
black-and-white stills, with a sonorous voiceover narrative and eerie sound
effects.” (French, 2011) The story unfolds in a subterranean place, where
the survivors of a world disaster dwell along with scientists who send people
in the past, trying to prevent the cataclysmic events, that drove them underground and save humanity. One of the
prisoners has a vivid memory of a woman from the past which is his anchor in
his journeys through time. (fig. 2)
(fig. 2 – movie still)
Chris Marker achieved incredible results with “La Jetée” because the story is about
memory and the still images feel engraved in the viewer’s mind days after they
watched them. Micahel Freiman discusses “La Jetée”: “Marker’s brief is to question the workings of memory, time and why the
still image has a greater capacity to affect the viewer than the moving image,
which he does using complex narrative strategies.” (Freiman, 2015).
It is also clear that the images are not combined together
at random. There is a strong pace in their sequence, depending on the emotional
response Chris Marker wants to achieve. “Sound
is not the only tool that Marker skilfully uses to set the pace of the film.
The amount of time each still photo remains on the screen and the quickening or
lengthening of the edits between the shots greatly sets the pace and mood of
the film. Quick edits combined with the sound of the beating heart during the
experiment work effectively to set the mood that a live action sequence could
not.” (Timetravelreviews.com, 2015)
(fig. 3)
(fig. 3 – still)
In conclusion “La
Jetée” explores gripping subjects and an extraordinary story. Its overall
feeling is as if it wants to be a full length film (which it managed to inspire
in “The Twelve Monkeys”) it feels
like a story stripped out of everything unnecessary and presented with mastery
and creativity.
Images:
Fig. 1 - lothlaurien's
lore, (2010). Art Films #101. [online] Available at:
https://lothlaurien.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/art-films-101/ [Accessed 9 Jan.
2015].
Fig. 2 - Theguardian.com, (2015). La Jetée (The Jetty) |
Film | The Guardian. [online] Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/76696 [Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
Fig. 3 - Precious Bodily Fluids, (2010). La Jetée: Something
is real?. [online] Available at:
https://andrewsidea.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/la-jetee-something-is-real/
[Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
Bibliography:
Freiman, M. (2015). An analysis of the Chris Marker Film 'La
Jetée". [online] Academia.edu. Available at:
http://www.academia.edu/7208076/An_analysis_of_the_Chris_Marker_Film_La_Jet%C3%A9e_
[Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
French, P. (2011). La Jetee/ Sans Soleil – DVD review.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/sep/25/jetee-sans-soleil-dvd-review
[Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
Timetravelreviews.com, (2015). Andy's Anachronisms -- La
Jetée (1962) Directed by Chris Marker. [online] Available at:
http://www.timetravelreviews.com/movies/la_jetee.html [Accessed 9 Jan. 2015].
