you know when i actually take the time to advocate a science fiction film, it's going to be worth it. chris marker’s 1962 french film la jetee while having some of the most amazing cinematography i’ve ever seen in any film - let alone a 28 minute one! - also contains some pretty neat concepts too. i’m not usually one for anything science fiction but the film’s commentary on humanity’s power crusades and the envisaging of war if they were to continue does hold some ideas i deem important; perhaps more so contextually than anything, but i guess that's what good filmmaking is all about. if the messages aren't, at the very least the use of cinematography is pretty transcendental anyway.
depicting the story of a dystopic france torn by post-nuclear war, la jetee expressed many of the fears inherent in society at the time. emerging from the vietnam war, a fear of world war three, hosted by newly discovered nuclear weaponry that could destroy whole nations spread through society, implementing paranoia. this déjà vu zeitgeist of the ’60s was one marker has expressed all throughout his film, with motifs of memory and time through the french literary genre of ‘photo-roman’ (photo-novel). this essentially means there's no moving images, just a slideshow of pictures, which you think would be boring, but the way in which marker utilizes the science fiction genre with french new wave techniques to express broader philosophical themes, such as the exploration of the human psyche, adds an additional depth to the film and makes it more applicable to a general audience. i guess in freudian terms, the minimal dialogue and iconography of the still images enables the viewers psyche to react more, allowing them to imagine more than is just being shown.
contrary to most sci-fi films, there is a rejection of a sense of wonder in futurity that is replaced by a sense of wonder in the past through time travel. the ironic nostalgia the lone protagonist feels towards his past full of “fabulous materials: glass, plastic, terry cloth” creates a connection to the audience by the quotidian objects, whilst also reflecting the societal fears of the ramifications technology could have; that one day, technology, with its deep focus on the future, could potentially detach humanity from its past. it is this beckoning for a re-evalution of societal goals that makes the movie really something to think about.
i can't say that it's for everyone, if you don't like to delve deep with your movies then maybe sit this one out, but if you ever feel like watching something a quarter length of a blockbuster but potentially threefold the quality of one, give la jetee a look.
