La Jetee

A Film by Chris Marker
Starring Jean Negroni, Helene Chatelain,
Davos Hanich, & Jacques Ledoux
1962

(The second installment of Loy's "Films To See Before You Die" series)

      The time and place-Paris after the third world war has decimated the majority of the population and soaked the surface in a poisonous radiation.  The survivors struggle for survival in a series of underground tunnels, looked over by soldiers and scientists who use certain members as test subjects.  One of these subjects travels back in time to a pre-war Paris where he meets a woman (whose face he saw when he was a kid at the Paris airport) and falls in love with her.  One day, he’s running towards her and is killed by a soldier from the future.  As the man dies, he realizes that the memory of her at the airport was actually the day he died.

     Whilst the story of “La Jetee” has the trappings of a post-apocalyptic thrill ride (which is how the remake, “12 Monkeys”, came out as), “La Jetee” retains its power over 40 years after its creation to invoke a sense of awe and wonderment.  Instead of a rollercoaster, what we get is a poem…a profoundly deep and beautiful one. 

      In its 28 minutes of running time, the story of “La Jetee” isn’t so much told to us, but unfolds in front of our eyes through a series of still photographs with a narrator highlighting the VERY basic aspects of the story we are experiencing…and I used the word “experiencing” in relation to the story.  The mode of storytelling is melodious and hypnotic, thus what happens is that the distance an audience keeps with most films with a generic mode of story framing starts to slowly melt.  We become more and more invested in the story BECAUSE we’re not being led by the hand through it.  For example, the fact that the world was devastated by nuclear war, by being rendered by the simple lines “Many died. Some believed themselves to be victors. Others were taken prisoner. The survivors settled beneath Chaillot, in an underground network of galleries.  Above ground, Paris, as most of the world, was uninhabitable, riddled with radioactivity.” over photos of destroyed buildings and soldiers in radiation suits, sinks into our psyche a bit more powerfully BECAUSE of its economy of mode.  This economy not only allows us to relax and take the story in on our terms, but allows us to imagine much, much more than what we’re seeing.  Thus the full picture is actually created not by the author, but by the audience.

     The fact that “La Jetee” isn’t so much a film as it is a slideshow with narration also speaks to certain themes in the film.  The passage of time, the power of memories, how our worldview is shaped by how we take in information…the still photograph crystallizes and symbolizes these themes without egotistically calling too much attention to itself.  By “egotistically”, I mean that the stylization isn’t so much used so the director can say “look at how clever I am!”, and the stylization doesn’t draw away from the story, but that the stylization compliments both story and themes.

     I mentioned the slideshow format.  However, there is one moment of movement.  Whilst spending an afternoon in bed with the woman, after a series of fluid transitional photos, she opens her eyes and smiles.  This is the only movement in the film that’s shown to us.  While this moment of movement is haunting, it also helps to highlight the themes the director is exploring.  That one smile becomes both an enigmatic reminder of our inability to fully understand others and the world around us (even ourselves, and the way we see things), and, at the same time, a simple yet powerful reminder of the hope that comes with love, compassion, and connection with others.

     Whilst that interpretation of the scene might sound a bit highbrow, here’s the thing about it-it’s MY interpretation of it.  See, the true power of “La Jetee” comes from the fact that it allows us to ponder these ideas for ourselves.  My interpretation of the film is gonna be totally different from somebody elses interpretation of it (hence, my apprehension in discussing these themes here.  I’d rather just say “these themes are explored” and allow you, dear reader, to make your own interpretation of their meanings).  This speaks quite loudly of the trust the director put into the audience.  He didn’t have to boldly highlight any of his ideas.  He figured that the audience was (or at least should be) smart enough to come up with their interpretations.  He also hoped that his audience would also be willing to discuss what they just saw with those around them (thus reinforcing the importance of connections).

     By doing this, he also killed of his chances at a film-making career in America (where studios and audiences dictate that films tell their stories in ways that 2-year old retards, rather than cogent adults, can understand…one only look at the success of “300” to see this principle in action).  But then again, this is Chris Marker we’re talking about.

     Who the hell is Chris Marker?  Well, that’s a question that doesn’t have a definitive answer.  What’s known about him is that he’s a poet, a film-maker, a painter, a photographer, a journalist…basically, an all around artist.  Born Chris François Bouche-Villeneuve in Paris (1921…at least that’s the common consensus), Marker, a committed Marxist, originally started doing films with the French New Wave directors as a way of exploring certain philosophical aspects of Marxism.  In fact, most of his films are philosophical jumblings and stretchings of the documentary form, thanks to the influence of both Marx and the French New Wave…we think.  See, Marker doesn’t do interviews very much, and those that he’s done, he’s kept himself as an enigma (when asked for his photo, he’s reported to have said “take a picture of a cat.  You will find my spirit in their eyes”.  He’s also fond of telling interviewers “make up your own stories.  Use your imagination, and come up with something you think could happen.”). 

     Almost everything I’ve said here could be wrong, and yet this makes perfect sense.  If anything could be definitively said about the works of Chris Marker, it’s that he’s explored the nature of perception and truth (specifically, how we see things as “true”) in ways that are both powerful and imaginative.  The fact that he’s kept himself as an enigmatic figure in the background only reinforces these ideas.  At the same time, it also acts as a push for us to explore these ideas even further…to explore it outside of the theatre and in everyday life.  The fact that Marker has also used works of art that are as powerful as “La Jetee” just makes those explorations much more wondrous.