La JetéeThere is an idea that time is merely an illusion, a construct of human perception to help us measure reality. Along those lines, memories are no different than a return to that same place, a space that is as real as any other in this fourth dimension, stepping onto the same footprints--again for the first time. La Jetée is the story of an unnamed man, depicted by Davos Hanich, who travels in time with the goal of saving the human race, destined for annihilation in the fallout of World War III. What makes the man special is his fixed memory of a fated point in his past, an anchor which guides him to a destination as inevitable and inescapable as a line which curves, making a perfect circle in the process.
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Can La Jetée truly be called a "motion picture"? It is a comparatively brief film which is told nearly exclusively through a series of still images, memories of the man whose task is great and who is subjected to cruel experimentation in order to achieve the desired outcome. He is not a volunteer in this process; he is chosen, forced to participate, a prisoner of a world which cannot spare the luxury of kindness or freedom. The man travels through time after being connected to a device which includes a special blindfold--like a sleep mask--covering his eyes, with cables designed perhaps to stimulate his dream state or record it, either would be plausible. Ultimately, the key resides within his dreams, his memories, where his fixed point gives him the ability to navigate time through this dreaming dimension. In essence, the suggestion of La Jetée is that dreams are also a kind of dimension, a facet of reality not unlike the others we use to measure our plane of existence. Although the man exists in the past, he journeys there not through an apparatus to transport his physical form, but through the contents of the syringes administered to him and the dream-focused device which initiates this. This means that the physical form is unnecessary to travel through time, and that existence is not bound by the flesh or time at all. La Jetée is a philosophical science fiction film, based on these interpretations of how time travel works. These memories of the man are presented to us as still images, snapshots which become reality--past, present, and future. This also suggests that even a still image possesses the power of reality, that by conjuring memory it evokes a state of existence in that place in time, because memory and dreams are as real as the established dimensions; it merely takes an open mind to accept it as such.
In addition to being a science fiction story, La Jetée is also a love story. The image etched into the man's memory which serves as his guide concerns a violent incident at an airport, something he half-remembers and believes he may have half-dreamed--included in that memory is the image of a woman, portrayed by Hélène Chatelain. When the man travels back in time, he gravitates toward the woman, and it becomes clear that a romance blossoms from their increased intimacy and time shared. This also raises the questions about what it is that triggers a "love response", since much of the man's existence has been molded by this distinct memory he has fixated upon; the woman from it has haunted his dreams and so it seems inescapable that she becomes the centerpiece of his somniferous expedition and attraction. These characters go unnamed; they are ciphers, and their absence of identification makes them relatable as though they were any one of us, replicas of actual people. Similarly, one of the places the man and woman go--where it become apparent that they are in love--is at a natural history museum, where there are replicas of mammals and constructs of living creatures on display, just as these replicas--these beings frozen forever in time--are on display for us in this film. The images of La Jetée frequently dissolve from one to another, giving a perception of movement and the illusion of life in a dreamlike animation. Dreams are often a remix of a memory, an illusion of life or waking experience; La Jetée captures that sensation in its presentation. La Jetée is a poetic expression of multiple concepts, concisely addressing multiple branches of thought in the realm of metaphysics. The plot was an inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, and the concepts of time travel and altered states of reality through subconscious memory can also be felt in movies like The Matrix and the "Assassin's Creed" video game series. The special focus given to the eyes also underscores the existential concept that our senses mold our reality and not vice versa. This also bears interesting possibilities, since that could imply that this post-apocalyptic world is in part a result of his own perception of it, as well as the tortures he endures and that his fate is one which he pursued because he "knew" it to be "real". It also resolves the paradox that if his task is to save humanity from destruction, how could he have traveled into the future unless that future were one he could have already "known" existed? Like a jigsaw puzzle, La Jetée is a collection of pieces which assembled give a bigger context. But more interesting is that this jigsaw puzzle is capable of being assembled in more than one way, producing a picture which is subjective to the viewer, a concept which is especially keen given its deeper meaning and philosophical implications.
Recommended for: Fans of an experimental film about everything from time travel, metaphysics, and fate. La Jetée is brief as far as a film is concerned, but it is packed full of more thought-provoking content than most other films with longer running times.
In addition to being a science fiction story, La Jetée is also a love story. The image etched into the man's memory which serves as his guide concerns a violent incident at an airport, something he half-remembers and believes he may have half-dreamed--included in that memory is the image of a woman, portrayed by Hélène Chatelain. When the man travels back in time, he gravitates toward the woman, and it becomes clear that a romance blossoms from their increased intimacy and time shared. This also raises the questions about what it is that triggers a "love response", since much of the man's existence has been molded by this distinct memory he has fixated upon; the woman from it has haunted his dreams and so it seems inescapable that she becomes the centerpiece of his somniferous expedition and attraction. These characters go unnamed; they are ciphers, and their absence of identification makes them relatable as though they were any one of us, replicas of actual people. Similarly, one of the places the man and woman go--where it become apparent that they are in love--is at a natural history museum, where there are replicas of mammals and constructs of living creatures on display, just as these replicas--these beings frozen forever in time--are on display for us in this film. The images of La Jetée frequently dissolve from one to another, giving a perception of movement and the illusion of life in a dreamlike animation. Dreams are often a remix of a memory, an illusion of life or waking experience; La Jetée captures that sensation in its presentation. La Jetée is a poetic expression of multiple concepts, concisely addressing multiple branches of thought in the realm of metaphysics. The plot was an inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, and the concepts of time travel and altered states of reality through subconscious memory can also be felt in movies like The Matrix and the "Assassin's Creed" video game series. The special focus given to the eyes also underscores the existential concept that our senses mold our reality and not vice versa. This also bears interesting possibilities, since that could imply that this post-apocalyptic world is in part a result of his own perception of it, as well as the tortures he endures and that his fate is one which he pursued because he "knew" it to be "real". It also resolves the paradox that if his task is to save humanity from destruction, how could he have traveled into the future unless that future were one he could have already "known" existed? Like a jigsaw puzzle, La Jetée is a collection of pieces which assembled give a bigger context. But more interesting is that this jigsaw puzzle is capable of being assembled in more than one way, producing a picture which is subjective to the viewer, a concept which is especially keen given its deeper meaning and philosophical implications.
Recommended for: Fans of an experimental film about everything from time travel, metaphysics, and fate. La Jetée is brief as far as a film is concerned, but it is packed full of more thought-provoking content than most other films with longer running times.