Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Anthony Iessi "La Jette" is a strange short film, that many are familiar to the fact that it inspired the Terry Gilliam film "12 Monkeys". It centers on the hypothetical aftermath of World War III. It is assumed that the world had been scorched by nuclear weaponry, as we see a young man strapped down and blindfolded by a group of ominous scientists in an underground refuge. What the man is being subjected to is a time machine that sends him back to the time, and his mission is to collect goods, and send them back to the present day in order to feed the survivors of the war. He is sent back to the near moment when his life ended, and all he remembers seeing is a strikingly beautiful young woman, standing over a pier while an unknown man falls to his death. Instead of following orders, the man stalks the female throughout the city of Paris, in order to figure out why he remembers her, and what significance she has to him before the bomb hit. What happens is quite lovely actually. You see, the man begins to talk to the young woman, and they begin a pleasant Parisian love affair. Needless to say, this makes the underground scientists none too pleased. For several times over, the scientists keep sending the man back to the beginning of the time warp in order to complete the mission, only for the man to keep pursuing the young lady every time. The two inter-dimensional lovebirds even manage to squeeze in a museum visit, where they gaze at the wonders of the animal kingdom. Hey, even in a time warp, you have to stop and smell the roses. After many attempts, the scientists play a trick and send the young man to a strange, scary future that warns him of the consequences of a malnourished society. The people where black clothing, and stare deeply into his eyes. Do you think that would scare him into doing the right thing? Of course not! He's got to get the girl. Angry about his failure, the scientists bring him back to the past, to meet the girl, only to have him assassinated by another time traveler. In the end, he suffered the exact same fate as the man he saw before the war. He was the fallen man from his own past. All this is shown in glorious frames per second… no not 24, just frames. Like a slideshow gone horribly wrong, the story progresses through images, which coincide with the fact that Marker himself is an acclaimed photographer. Does it even matter in the end? Not for me. I was deeply invested in every moment of this great short film. As a matter of fact, in the genre of Science Fiction, I don't think I've ever seen a finer film. Marker masterfully places fear in the hearts of his viewers. Whatever future we have to look forward to, it looks awfully bleak for Marker. There is nothing to look forward to, but the imminent arrival of a nuclear holocaust. As with many films in tune with "Nouvelle Vague", the politics are visibly liberal. "La Jette" is an early anti-war picture. In the wake of WWII, and the arms race happening in Europe, Marker constructed a film that allowed us to think about the social and physical implications of nuclear war. In the process, he allows an intimate look at the past, and how our main character, keeps trying to hang onto it as long as he can, for tomorrow is hopeless. The woman he seeks is in itself, a metaphor for peace and good memories. Good memories are precious, and beautiful, and visceral. When you think about good memories, you want to plant yourself back in time and relive them. We sympathize with our main character, and we feel for him when he dies in the end. I believe the moral of it all is to remember what thrived before, and try to prevent what this film tried to envision for our future, which consists of nothing.

davikubrick Around the 1960's, Nouvelle Vague (or French New Wave) was starting to become famous, with incredible masterpieces like Hiroshima mon amour and The 400 Blows, the "main" directors (or at least the innermost)were called "The Right Bank Group from French New Wave" (Godard, Truffaut,Chabrol and Rohmer) and Godard called Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda and Chris Marker "The Left Bank Group from French New Wave" that somehow denigrated them for not being so intimate of directors like Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol and Rohmer, but actually the best and most influential films of the Nouvelle Vague actually came from the "Left Bank Group", movies like Hiroshima mon amour, Last Year at Marienbad and Cleo from 5 to 7 marked and changed the way of making films and most of them are recognized by this, especially Hiroshima mon amour, which used an innovative way the flashback and considered one of the most important and influential films in cinema history, and "La jetée" which inspired 12 Monkeys, is also considered one of the best short films ever made. World War III, The tale of a men which was sent to the past and future to find a solution to the world's fate, While he revives memories of the past with a woman he had loved and has a chance to love her again while he is on the past, he will have to choose between living the future or the past. The film is made of photographs, so there is no moving picture, but is more emotional than movies that have moving pictures, the tragic future, the loss of innocence, and other themes are constantly retreated in this short. In the end, the only thing that matters is the memory, not what we will live.

AbhiMathews It's the moments we live through that define us. We may try to run away from our fears and put our pasts behind us to an extent, but we cannot evade the inevitable. La Jetée reveals life shortly before a World War that leaves the world in ruins. We see how society and the ways of life transform over the course of time yet how memories and actions remain constant in people. It's often difficult for us to truly comprehend the impact all our experiences, relationships and thoughts have on our futures. It's even more bewildering how passions like love and happiness can be sustained even after calamitous events. This film is told primarily through still images, and captures particularly distinct memories of a man who vividly remembers the day he once saw another man die at an airport before the war while he was a young boy. It's a moment that sticks with him throughout his life and one that he cannot simply forget. Beautifully, this movie demonstrates that time is but a figment of the mind and that the world depicted in our minds is not as absolute as we may think.

Cyniphile To give more meaning to my review, this is one of about five films that I have given ten stars out of the hundreds I've rated. La Jetee is about the only art film I recommend widely. It does not indulge in vague artistry, cryptic and boring wanderings which you are left to decipher. La Jetee if it is anything, is a highly tuned piece of film engineered to lead any viewer in the right mindset on a carefully planed emotional journey. There's no filler; it's only 28 minutes. All of the "artsy" features of the film, especially the photo-montage style are executed with a very clear intention in the task of stirring up within the viewer a strong emotion... ***How to watch this movie***Might be useful if you are not used to art films. Take in La Jetee still after still. Let each image (and especially *the* image of the woman) wash over your mind in context of the story being told. Don't try to understand every detail, but do try to understand the story (which can be confusing since it involves time travel). Most of all be open to feeling, maybe even crying. This might mean it is better watch alone where there is no pressure to keep it together. This film is best if you let it tear you apart.