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Information

A.k.a.
La Jetée
Year
1962
Runtime
28 min.
Director
Chris Marker
Genres
Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Short
Rating *
8.2
Votes *
24,137
Checks
10,313
Favs
1,351
Dislikes
58
Favs/checks
13.1% (1:8)
Favs/dislikes
23:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. Filmsthemostbeautifulart's avatar

    Filmsthemostbeautifulart

    Today's sci-fi films are always oriented around common action cliches. Chris Marker's La Jetée is totally different though. It doesn't have a single motion video content (Except for a few seconds, one of the greatest moments in cinema). The entire film's story is told through still images and a guy narrates the story. The final result was so impressive that it inspired many time-travel films including Terminator and 12 Monkeys.

    The film begins in an airport in Paris. A boy witnesses the murder of a man and the reaction of a woman to the same. Soon the entire city is destroyed and thus begins World War 3. All the survivors hide underground, including the boy who survives the attack. In a few years, Man becomes capable of going back and forth in time but the technology is still infant and had already driven all the subjects to madness. The aim of this experiment was to save mankind. The next subject of this experiment is the boy himself, now a grown-up. Even now he remembers the woman's face, encapsulated in his memories. This helps him to undergo the experiment successfully. All his memoirs are reflected through the still images, both old and the ones he was going to experience through time travel. When he sent back to the past, he meets the woman and what happens next is a spellbinding experience...

    Hehe, I never knew that Sci-fiction films could ever be like this one. All we have seen is exploding stuff and alien attacks, not to mention time travel by a DeLorean. Well, Kubrick's 2001 is of completely another league so comparing these two masterpieces is useless. La Jetee is only 30 minutes long. But it's something any cinephile ought not to miss. The Story is simple, yet the it has a beautiful complexity behind it that can only be felt.

    La Jetee is officially #50 on BFI Sight and Sound's Poll.

    5/5
    11 years 6 months ago
  2. sammysin's avatar

    sammysin

    This is a masterpiece in unorthodox science fiction. I was watching my Criterion Blu-ray and have to say it was one of the most stunning, vivid and lively transfers I've seen.

    The technique of still images that are kinetic is astonishingly effective in HD. There are more than a few moments of real shock in only a 30 minute stretch. I know I won't be forgetting some of the things I see when I think about it.

    The story itself is exciting, romantic, mystical and tragic.

    Chris Marker was a real diamond, Rest In Peace my friend.
    11 years ago
  3. Choisai's avatar

    Choisai

    Completely mindblown. Some shots in this movie could have been framed and put in an art gallery, so stunning. The story itself is also thought-provoking, and has a nice circular pattern.
    The scene with the woman lying in bed was gorgeous, as the transition of the photographic shots became more fluent, up till the moment it turns into film, for a second or so.
    10 years 11 months ago
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In 19 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #1 in TSPDT's Brief Encounters
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    TSPDT's Brief Encounters

    1
  2. This movie ranks #14 in IMDb's Shorts Top 50
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    IMDb's Shorts Top 50

    14
  3. This movie ranks #23 in iCheckMovies's 1960s Top 100
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    iCheckMovies's 1960s Top…

    23
  4. This movie ranks #29 in Total Sci-Fi's The 100 Greatest Sci-Fi Movies
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    Total Sci-Fi's The 100 G…

    29
  5. This movie ranks #35 in Time Out's The 100 Best French Films
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    Time Out's The 100 Best …

    35
  6. This movie ranks #44 in BFI's 100 Science Fiction Films
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    BFI's 100 Science Fictio…

    44
  7. This movie ranks #47 in Cahiers du Cinéma's 100 Films for an Ideal Cinematheque
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    Cahiers du Cinéma's 100 …

    47
  8. This movie ranks #58 in Sight & Sound's The Greatest Films of All Time
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    Sight & Sound's The Grea…

    58
  9. This movie ranks #93 in The Times's 100 Best French Films
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    The Times's 100 Best Fre…

    93
  10. This movie ranks #95 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    95
  11. This movie ranks #165 in Harvard's Suggested Film Viewing: Narrative Films
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    Harvard's Suggested Film…

    165
  12. This movie ranks #288 in Amos Vogel's Film as a Subversive Art
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    Amos Vogel's Film as a S…

    288
  13. This movie ranks #378 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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    1001 Movies You Must See…

    378
  14. This movie ranks #429 in The Criterion Collection
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    The Criterion Collection

    429
  15. This movie ranks #463 in The Guardian's 1000 Films to See Before You Die
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    The Guardian's 1000 Film…

    463
  16. This movie ranks #482 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    482
  17. This movie ranks #484 in Jennifer Eiss's 500 Essential Cult Movies
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    Jennifer Eiss's 500 Esse…

    484
  18. This movie ranks #517 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
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    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…

    517
  19. This movie ranks #616 in David Thomson's Have You Seen?
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    David Thomson's Have You…

    616
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