Sans Soleil (1983) Sans soleil (original title)

Director:

Chris Marker

Writer:

Chris Marker

Release Date:

2 March 1983 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

"He wrote me...." A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory...

Plot Keywords:

Japan | Time | Memory | Iceland | Surrealism

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Florence Delay	...	Narrator (French version) (voice)
Arielle Dombasle	...	Herself
Riyoko Ikeda	...	Narrator (Japanese version) (voice)
Charlotte Kerr	...	Narrator (German version) (voice)
Kim Novak	...	Herself / Madeleine Elster / Judy Burton (archive footage)
Alexandra Stewart	...	Narrator (English version) (voice)
James Stewart	...	Himself / John 'Scottie' Ferguson (archive footage)

Directed by
Chris Marker		(as Chris. Marker)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Chris Marker		(as Chris. Marker)

Original Music by
Chris Marker		(as Michel Krasna)

Cinematography by
Chris Marker

Film Editing by
Chris Marker		(as Chris. Marker)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pierre Camus	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Paul Bertault	....	sound mixer
Antoine Bonfanti	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Chris Marker	....	special effects (as Hayao Yamaneko)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Cloquet	....	assistant camera
Ghislain Cloquet	....	assistant camera
Eric Dumage	....	assistant camera
Dominique Gentil	....	assistant camera
Jimmy Glasberg	....	assistant camera
Kazuko Kawakita	....	assistant camera
Pierre Lhomme	....	assistant camera
Tom Luddy	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Catherine Adda	....	assistant editor
Anne-Marie Lhote	....	assistant editor

Thanks
Eugenio Bentivoglio	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Guerrilla in Bissau)
Jean-Michel Humeau	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Graduation Ceremony)
Mario Marret	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Guerrilla in Bissau)
Sana Na N'Hada	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Bissau Carnival)
Haroun Tazieff	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Iceland 1970)
Danièle Tessier	....	acknowledgment: archive footage (segment: Death of a Giraffe)

Production Companies

• Argos Films

Distributors

• Aurora (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• New Yorker Films (1983) (USA) (dubbed)
• Ripley's Home Video (2007) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)

Also Known As:

"Sans soleil" - France (original title)
"Sunless" - International (English title) (informal literal title)
"Without Sun" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Japanese | English

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Singapore:M18 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Cape Verde

Company:

Argos Films

Trivia:

The narration refers to the Japanese word "Tora" as the name of an individual pet cat. The literal translation of the word "Tora" in English is "Tiger".

Quotes:

Narrator:He liked the fragility of those moments suspended in time. Those memories whose only function had been to leave behind nothing but memories. He wrote: I've been round the world several times and now only banality still interests me. On this trip I've tracked it with the relentlessness of a bounty hunter. At dawn we'll be in Tokyo.

Movie Connections:

Features Carnival (1982) (VG)

An amazement

I've only seen this film twice, both on the same day, nearly fifteen years ago; and yet its poetic-philosophical themes, its melancholy, its images still remain with me. Viewing it was an intensely personal experience; I find myself a little startled to find that other people have seen it. I find myself plagiarising it constantly; I think of it at odd times (when I accidentally catch someone's eyes and immediately look away; whenever I visit San Francisco); it is a work of lingering and subtle beauty that percolates through my bloodstream, informing the hours and days, changing the things and ways I see...