Inspiring a Few Monkeys

Let’s take a step back in time to 1962.  Along comes a short film by Chris Marker entitled La Jetée.  While experimental, it proves that to tell a story you need not worry about special effects or even moving images.  While some will argue that Marker’s film is more style than substance, I would argue that La Jetée forces the viewer to see the substance due to the outright lack of style.

If you’ve ever watched 12 Monkeys, you know the time traveling story of La Jetée.  The world has World War III, and life has changed.  A man is used as a time travel experiment due to his unique connection to a young lady.  He moves back and forth in time, trying to avert the horrible circumstances of the present.  After finishing his experiment he has the option of going forward in time, yet he requests going back to be with his young lady.  As paths cross, the beginning of the film is the end as well.  The man is the boy.  A witness to his own death.

What makes this film extraordinary is that there is only a few seconds of actual film, the rest is constructed using still images and placed in a montage.  The stillness is cause for anxiety as we listen to the narrator discuss his situation with in the plainest manner.  The irony of using still images for a film is what sets the film apart.  While others are fixated on creating a masterpiece through special effects and action, Marker shows that still images and the right story are all you need.  This film even has time travel!  How can you have science fiction without the special effects?  It’s pretty simple if you watch La Jetée.

The reason for my review is that too many times I hear my students talking about films such as 12 Monkeys, yet fail to know that it was based on La Jetée.  This is through no fault of their own, I had to learn it at some point as well.  But it disturbs me that something as well done as La Jetée gets pushed to the side because it wasn’t big budget or filled with action.  If anything, a film like La Jetée proves that film is a medium that allows for many styles and approaches and that we should respect each as a possible outlet for creativity.  Just because a film is avant-garde or experimental does not mean it has to be out there.  Yes David Lynch may be the exception.  La Jetée will continue to be a must see film for its ability to tell a meaningful story through limited means.