Le Jette (1961) showing on TCM 9/3

Post Reply
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Le Jette (1961) showing on TCM 9/3

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Time is an interesting paradox. One may have more or less of it. It’s infinite, yet we only know it as finite beings. But what if time could be enclosed, captured and used as a vehicle? That’s the premise of Le Jetee.



Image



This French film, made in 1961 is not only unique in concept, but in it’s presentation as well. First of all, Le Jetee (or The Pier in english) is a very short film—only about 27 minutes long. Secondly the film is comprised almost entirely of still images (there is one tiny filmed segment) mixed with an incredible score and unusual sound effects. Director Chris Marker uses these photographs to help us visualize time as moments suspended in air and space. It also helps us identify with the characters and story which is a simple narrative.



Our main character lives in the future after World War III has ravaged the earth. His memory of a woman he saw at the pier (or airport) as a child before the war is something he has held onto all these years. Her smile has haunted him and yet sustained him through all the tumultuous times that have followed. He is a prisoner of war, but in good company as the victors are trapped below ground with him. The earth has become radioactive and no one can live on the surface of the planet.



The only hope is the future. Looking for men with strong memories, his captors feel he is a prime candidate for testing and propose to send him into the past to connect with his memory. If he can move through time to specific places, events, and make contact with people, then he will be able to be propelled into the future to find help and solutions to problems in the present—before the human race becomes extinct.




Image


If the plot sounds familiar, it is. Terry Gilliam remade this film in 1995 as 12 Monkeys, but it lacks the simple beauty and grace of Marker’s original film. Marker was heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo (1958) which also deals with man’s obsession with a woman and his attempt to turn back time and remake her after she has died. There is one scene in the film which is an homage to Vertigo where the man and woman look at the cross section of a tree as a means of defining time.



Le Jetee’s magic comes from it’s ability to conceptualize time and helps us to see it differently than our everyday experiences where it—and we—are in continual motion. This makes it hard for us to view life objectively. We become defined by what we do, not who we are and our relationship to others. It also helps us to see time as a commodity to be used before our own lives are spent.




Image


While the end of the film is heartbreaking, it’s a solemn reminder that the past, present, and future are not isolated, but indeed connected. One cannot live in the past or future and deny the present. Nor can one escape from them. Like a pool of ever widening ripples they touch all parts of our lives and we bear their imprint.
Last edited by Mr. Arkadin on January 7th, 2008, 7:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
moira finnie
Administrator
Posts: 8024
Joined: April 9th, 2007, 6:34 pm
Location: Earth
Contact:

Post by moira finnie »

Thanks for the detailed reminder of La Jetée (1962). I've heard of this intriguing film, but look forward to seeing it at last on TCM. Since it deals with memory, war, death, and perhaps most of all, our perception of time, the premise has reminded me of Ambrose Bierce's brief short story about a prisoner of war at the end of the Civil War, called An Occurrence at Owl Creek, which can be read in its entirety here.

If you were ever lucky enough to see one of the more brilliant episodes of that landmark series The Twilight Zone, you may have seen the classic short film directed and adapted by French filmmaker Robert Enrico in 1962 and purchased by the American program for use in the show during the 1964 season. According to several sources, it has not been broadcast as part of The Twilight Zone's syndication package since it first appeared on CBS. This episode is said to have been included in the box set for the series, however. I was lucky, since an English teacher in high school somehow had acquired a film of this movie long before video was an everyday reality.

It seems that both these short films mark one of the few times that cinema toys in a straightforward way with the connections between the way that our minds filter through imagery in a lightning fast manner constantly, and the ways in which our memory and perception of past and present events helps us to edit experience. (Of course, movies are constantly conspiring with us subliminally to do this while they simply entertain us too.)

Your jogging of my memory about both these films makes me more eager to see both. Thanks, Ark!
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Moira,

Yes, I have seen An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge. There was actually a VHS released with Le Jette and AOAOCB together, but video quality was quite poor. Critic's Choice re-released the film along with Patterns (1956) (Rod Serling wrote the script), but both films suffer from pixellation and do not look that good. TCM showed Patterns about three years ago if memory serves, but I have never seen AOAOCB on TCM.

With the Twilight Zone being released on DVD one might wonder if it could be included as an extra, although it was not tied to the show at all--simply shown with an intro by Serling. I agree that both films are similar in the way they play with time and our perception of it. In fact, both films introduce the concept that our ideas about time are completely misguided and they probably are! 8)
User avatar
Dewey1960
Posts: 2493
Joined: April 17th, 2007, 7:52 am
Location: Oakland, CA

Post by Dewey1960 »

Mr. Ark - Thanks for your beautifully eloquent piece on Le Jette, one of my favorite films. I've somehow managed to misplace my copy so am looking forward to capturing the TCM broadcast. Thanks again!
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

Dewey, the new Criterion DVD looks amazing and you also get Sans Soleil as well. There are extras showing the the similarities of Vertigo (many more than the single reference I gave) and also Jette's influence on other works--even David Bowie's videos. :shock: Worth having to be sure!
Mr. Arkadin
Posts: 2645
Joined: April 14th, 2007, 3:00 pm

Post by Mr. Arkadin »

A bump for this classic, reshowing tomorrow.

For those not into Foreign works, this one might be a good opener as it's relatively short and almost all of the picture is still frame so you won't be missing any action to read subtitles.

This is defintely one of the best SciFi films ever made in my opinion. Often copied, but never duplicated.
Post Reply