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La Jetée

La Jetée

By Patrick Samuel • January 3rd, 2013
Static Mass Rating: 5/5
LA JETEE (SHORT FILM)
Argos Films

Release date: February 16th, 1962
Running time: 28 minutes

Country of origin: France
Original language: French with English subtitles and dubbing

Writer and director: Chris Marker
Composer: Trevor Duncan

Narrator: Jean Négroni
Cast: Helene Chatelain, Jacques Ledoux, Davos Hanich

Chris Marker’s Website

La jetée

Chris Marker was always the type of filmmaker whose work fell into the category of thoughtful and challenging, and by nature he was a much gifted storyteller. He documented history and built a narrative around what he observed and the results were always profound, so much so that his ideas continue to influence filmmakers today.

His 1962 short film, La Jetée, was no different. Told with still images shot in black and white, and featuring narration by Jean Négroni, it’s the story of a man marked by an image from his childhood.

Set in the aftermath of World War III in the bombed out city of Paris, we meet survivors who are kept underground in the Palais de Chaillot galleries. This is where experiments in time travel are taking place. It’s also where we meet an un-named man – a prisoner – he’s the only one who can withstand the effects of the experiments. He’s desperate to solve the puzzle of the image that haunts him; when he witnessed the death of a man, and the woman who watched it with him. Her face remains burned in his memory.

The scientists hope that by calling on the past and the future, they can rescue the present. After many attempts, they succeed in placing him in pre-war times where he meets this mysterious woman. As he continues to visit her and learn more about what life was like before the war, they inevitably become drawn to each other, but in his present time when he learns he’s about to be executed, he has the choice to escape to the far future or the past.

La jetée

“This time he is close to her, he speaks to her. She welcomes him without surprise. They are without memories, without plans. Time builds itself painlessly around them. Their only landmarks are the flavour of the moment they are living and the markings on the walls.”

His choices will complete the circle of events he first witnessed as a child. If time is real, as many believe it is, then once an event has occurred, it will always occur and can never be undone or escaped.

Like fellow filmmaker Alain Resnais who documented the horrors of the Holocaust and the bombing of Hiroshima, Marker too was afflicted by the machinery of war in the 20th century. La Jetée tells of the destruction of mankind’s soul in a story that’s bleak and barren in the landscape it portrays, but it’s filled with so much humanity and understanding of the effect of our actions on the environment and life for others. I couldn’t help but be moved by it and amazed by the power of its story.

It’s an astounding example of what you can do as a filmmaker once you have a great story. Without special effects, the visuals are entirely crafted out of still images. The impact is far stronger compared to other films that have everything but such a powerful idea behind it.

Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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