La jetée (1962)

The story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.

Director:

Chris Marker

Stars:

Étienne Becker, Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain

2 wins.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean Négroni	...	Narrator (voice) (as Jean Negroni)
Hélène Chatelain	...	The Woman
Davos Hanich	...	The Man
Jacques Ledoux	...	The Experimenter
André Heinrich
Jacques Branchu
Pierre Joffroy
Étienne Becker	...	(as Etienne Becker)
Philbert von Lifchitz
Ligia Branice	...	A woman from the future (as Ligia Borowcyk)
Janine Klein	...	A woman from the future
William Klein	...	A man from the future (as Bill Klein)
Germano Facetti	...	(as Germano Faccetti)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Kirk	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

Time travel, still images, past, present and future and the aftermath of World War III. The tale of a man, a slave, sent back and forth, in and out of time, to find a solution to the world's fate, to replenish its decreasing stocks of food, medicine and energies, and in doing so, resulting in a perpetual memory of a lone female, life, death and past events that are recreated on an airport jetty.

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Plot Keywords:

still frame technique | memory | airport | time traveller | boy | 

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Genres:

Short | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

French language version narrated by Jean Negroni, English language version narrated by James Kirk.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: [English version] This is the story of a man marked by an image of his childhood. The violent scene which upset him, and whose meaning he was to grasp only years later, happened on the main pier at Orly, Paris Airport, sometime before the outbreak of World War Three.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits do not describe it as a film, but "un photo-roman."

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Connections

Referenced in Kicking and Screaming (1995)

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Soundtracks

Vastness of Space
(uncredited)
Music by Trevor Duncan
Plays during the time travel scene near the end
Boosey & Hawkes Ltd

User Reviews

Extremely Effective in its Subtlety.

The first time I saw this movie it was on a local educational TV channel (PBS was barely starting) in 1969. I was a youngster and it made such an indelible impression that I remembered it all these years. Luckily, to my surprise I discovered a copy recently at a video rental store.

The movie is only approximately 30 minutes in length and is composed of black and white still photography (except for one scene, where they show a mans eye blinking). It is a powerful depiction of the end of the world, human love and memory. The French narration adds to the poetic subtlety and drama. To my dismay, I heard there was a new DVD version available, but with English narration. Hopefully, the original French version will be made available, as it seems to add so much more to the dramatic effect of the movie.

To the average movie viewer, this film would be best described as avant-garde in nature. It is a prime example of how science fiction and drama can be produced with nuance and subtleties, rather than overuse of technological effects and gratuitous titillation and violence.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German

Release Date:

16 February 1962 (France)

Also Known As:

Terrassen

Filming Locations:

Galerie De Paléontologie Et D'Anatomie Comparée Du Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle - 2 Rue Buffon, Paris 5, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films, Radio-Télévision Française (RTF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1