The airport is a place with a lot of things happening all at once. There are departures, arrivals, security checks, luggage retrievals, conversations, and countless other things. My favorite part of the airport back home is the observation deck. Every time a family member would fly in I always enjoyed climbing the stairs to watch their plane come in and land. Once their plane landed we’d hurry down with excitement to welcome them with open arms. A big part in our subject today revolves around an airport observation pier. A place where a boy not only sees planes landing safely, but also witnesses a murder.
So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions they convey then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me, that’s a bottle of Labbatt Blue from our friends in the great city of Toronto. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk about the live of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.
Although I’ve never seen one myself, some airports feature outdoor piers where people can stand outside and watch planes. Our subject today, La Jetée, which in English means “The Pier” begins on one of these outdoor observation areas. It is a film like no other that I’ve ever seen and a highly influential science fiction work or art.
It’s a film that is told through the use of black and white still imagery. There is no dialogue between characters, as the story itself is told through a lone person’s narration. It’s a technique that I haven’t seen often and have never seen it done nearly as brilliantly.
It was directed by Chris Marker, who at that time in 1962 was known in cinema for his documentary films. One of those films was a documentary about the 1952 Summer Games that took place in Helsinki. Just ten years later he would release our film today.
The interesting thing about La Jetée is that I found very little facts during my research. I found it quite difficult to learn anything definitive about Marker’s decisions, processes and challenges. Part if that is because he very rarely gave interviews, so a lot of what I found is less than concrete. What I can talk about with certainty however is the film itself.
La Jetée begins with the roaring sound of a jet engine followed by an aerial image of airplanes docked at an airport. As we zoom out of the photo we see more of the airport and more planes until the title of the film flashes on the screen. A choir begins to sing a Russian hymn titled “Krestu Tvoyemu” as the production credits roll across the still image until the screen fades to black and our journey begins. Next the screen fades to black and the narration begins with the famous line.
“This is the story of a man marked by an image from his own childhood.”
There is more narration followed by the still imagery that plays throughout the rest of the film. During the first part we see him as a young boy, the destruction of Paris, caused by world war three, and his present day surroundings. The narration throughout the film is quite fantastic, poetic in nature.
Now you may ask. What is the image from his childhood? It is simply an image of a woman. She has long hair and wears a black coat. Arguably the most famous image of the film is a close up of the woman. Her hand is on her mouth, almost in a thinking pose, her hair blowing across her face.
This also happened to be the cover of the film when I saw it the first time. It was recommended to me by a friend, Andy, who worked at the local Barnes & Noble. He stated that it was a great science fiction film told through snapshots in just thirty minutes. I was intrigued, so I bought it.
La Jetée tells the tale of a man who is chosen by leaders of the future to travel back in time to warn against the coming of world war three.
The film plays on the idea of memories throughout the film. In fact the reason that he is chosen to go back in time is because of the strong memory of that moment in time when he saw the woman on the pier as a young boy. One of my favorite quotes of the film plays on that idea wherein the narrator states:
“Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments. Only later do they claim remembrance on account of their scars.”
It’s such a great way of saying something so simple that it always stuck with me. Now I’ve talked about this fictional future plenty and I fear that you may have an image of wealth and happiness in your mind. However that could not be further from the truth.
The future is not some glorious picture of prosperity, but one of regret and desperation. The last inhabitants of Paris reside underground in what can only be described as tunnels or catacombs. We see only glimpses of their surroundings. Some of which are remnants of the past, like pieces of art salvaged before the war. In one shot I can recall we see framed paintings and sculptures stored under tarps with dirt on the statues. Our guide describes the future best when he states:
“The survivors settle beneath Shioh in a network of galleries. Above ground in Paris as in most of the world…everything was rotten with radioactivity. The victors stood guard over a kingdom of rats.”
The leaders of this time send people back in time to try and warn them of the nuclear fallout that is to come, oftentimes leading to madness. There is a great sequence of images that feature a test subject walking with wide and empty eyes and a scarred expression.
Our protagonist is chosen next. He thinks that he is to meet a Dr. Frankenstein type of character, but instead meets quite a regular looking man who tells him the world is over. His mission is to be sent back in time to warn of the past of the future and try to undo what has occurred.
The tests take place with the subject in a hammock. To induce the time travel they inject him with several shots to seduce his state of mind. For the most part he is left alone, except for his eyes, which feature a sleep mask hooked up to wires. When the experiment takes place we see him grimace in pain. His heartbeat thumps slowly and quickens with pace as the experiment continues. Each shit features his eyes covered by the electric sleep mask until the thumping begins to slow and fade. We next see him in the past, walking anout the streets of Paris. He sees real windows, real birds, and real cats. He walks around the lively streets and interacts with people, including the woman from his memory.
Eventually though they pull him back to his present reality until they can partake in another experiment. On one occasion there’s an awesome transition where he and the woman are in a museum together. He meets the eyes of a statue that looks to have had its nose removed. Through the image of the statue's face it slowly fades into the man in the hammock wearing the sleep mask. I love that fade in, I’ve always been struck by it.
I‘m not going to talk too long as I feel there’s no need to talk about thirty minute film for thirty minutes. I mean at that point you could just watch the film yourself. I would be remissed if I didn’t share my favorite part though.
There’s this fantastic sequence where we see the woman asleep in bed. The sound of birds chirping greets our ears and creates a peaceful moment. She is under covers and we can only see above her shoulders. Each image that we see features her in a different position, tossing and turning while asleep. Every image is followed by a transition to the next one. It creates this wonderful movement where it almost appears as if she’s turning in slow motion. At one point the sound of birds grows and we see the only bit of moving images. Even though this gives away nothing, I don’t want to spoil it for you. I think it creates a beautiful moment within the story that I think deserves to be seen and not spoiled.
La Jetée has inspired countless films and has left a mark on cinema, especially that of the science fiction genre. It’s an influence that can still be seen today, almost 60 years later. As always, I won’t spoil the ending, that’s for you to see. I do hope you tune in. I’ll be curious to know what you think.
I remember I was floored by this film the first time I saw it. So much so that I watched it a second time immediately afterward just to make sure that I had seen and experienced what I thought I had. I also recall as a young man wanting my mom to watch it. I sat her down and we watched La Jetée together. I think in my adolescence I was trying to tell her that this was important. Not being a great communicator I wanted her to know that I was affected by this film somehow. I’ fortunate to have a wonderful snd caring mother and I really enjoyed that shared moment and experience.
If you’d like to watch La Jetee for yourself you can find it on a variety of streaming services. At the time of this recording you can find La Jetee on The Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel hosts a myriad of fantastic films and content for either $9.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do.
You can also find it on Apple TV or Prime Video for $2.99 and &3.99 respectively to rent.
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