La Jetee is a French Film directed by Chris Marker in 1962. The film consists of black and white stills

with sound and dialogue over the top, telling a story of how a man is sent through different time

zones to resolve solutions. Along the way he meets a lone woman who he has seen before in his

childhood, he had seen her the same day that he experienced his most traumatic episode, though he

was unaware of the victim’s identity at the time; he had seen his own death. This sci-fi ‘un-photo-

roman’ (a – photo – novel) has inspired more recent films such as 12 Monkeys, directed by Terry

Gilliam, 1995 and Looper directed by Rian Johnson, 2012.

At first we are at an Airport and it all seems natural, as do the sounds. It is only when we are taken

underground with the ‘guinea pig’ that the sound design “begins its abysmal and violent descent”

(Schefer, 1990). Due to this production being made up of mostly still images we get a more intimate

feel with the story and environment as we have the time to see and understand, rather than fast-

paced action shots to keep us interested. Though we see the main male lead as a boy at the start

then an adult for the rest of the film, we haven’t seen him grow up, as if we have jumped a time

zone to keep up with the plot line. These stills also give the impression that the ‘films time-zone’ is

still, as if this main character is in some sort of personal purgatory, stuck in one place, unable to

progress forward simply with ease.

Figure 1 - Death

Figure 2 - woman in bed

In some scenes of the laboratory it is almost completely silent with the exception of the narrator

whispering. These moments give the impression of hiding and secretive, as if he isn’t supposed to

tell the audience what’s happening as we may get caught. This element has a certain creepiness

within it due to the narrator establishing himself at the start of the film as the one with the

knowledge of the story and how he is the guide and authoritative figure we must listen to and obey

if we want to understand the narrative.

At one point the happy couple (main male and female role) are at a Natural History Museum in

which they are being playful around the stuffed animals, this sequence of stills with the

accompaniment of “eerie, romantic and obsessive” (Romney, 2007) sounds creates this twisted love

tale, is the couple an echo of these still and stuffed creatures? Unable to progress forward and

prosper together, this idea of being frozen in time is contrasted with the happiness seen in the

couple which overall makes the tale sad.

The sound design ranges from natural everyday sounds you might here in a specific environment, to

almost silence then to orchestral symphonies. One thing that all these moments of sound and music

have in common, as described by Jonathan Romney is that the sounds are “heard from afar, from a

distant past” (Romney, 2007) which could be argued agreeable or not. In particular scenes the sound

is unnatural, therefore it is far from the characters in the film world, but it gives us, the audience, a

clue to what could possibly happen next. The same goes for the narrator, the characters cannot hear

him, but as he not only tells the facts of the narrative but describes the action as well it is as if he has

done this before or even maybe experienced this tale himself.

Figure 3 - Natural History Museum

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Romney. J. 2007 The Criterion Collection http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/485-la-jetee-

unchained-melody

Schefer. J . 1990, Chris Marker official work site http://www.chrismarker.org/jean-louis-schefer-on-

la-jete/

ILLUSTARTIONS

Fig 1 - Death (1962) La Jetee, Chris Marker [Film Still], France, Argos Films http://www.urielorlow.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2002/09/la-jetee-orly.jpg (Accessed on 13/1/14) Fig 2 – Woman in bed (1962) La Jetee, Chris Marker [Film Still], France, Argos Films http://projectshadowchaser.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/lajet.jpg (Accessed on 13/1/14) Fig 3 – Natural History Museum (1962) La Jetee, Chris Marker [Film Still], France, Argos Films http://imageshack.us/a/img233/6849/shot0029kp3.png (Accessed on 13/1/14)