La Jetée (1962)

La Jetée is a French science-fiction film first released in 1962, directed by Chris Marker.  The film stars Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux and Ligia Branice.  It has also been released under the title: The Pier.  Our overall rating for this film is: excellent.


The world is in ruins in the aftermath of a nuclear war.  A team of scientists realise that the only way to save humanity from extinction is to send someone into the past or the future to ask for help.  After a number of failed experiments, the scientists find one man, whose strong recollection of a childhood experience at Orly Airport makes him the ideal subject.

La Jetée is arguably one of the most distinctive and memorable of the films which emerged from the French New Wave filmmakers of the early 1960s.  It tells a haunting and provocative story, with a powerful twist ending, through a series of black and white photographic still images, accompanied by an emotionless yet compelling narration.  This combination of an unusual tale and an even more unusual cinematic style makes this a film that which will lodge in the memory of anyone who watches it forever.

The influence of the early work of Alain Resnais is evident.  The director, Chris Marker, worked with Resnais on his documentary short films, and the Resnais themes of time and memory resonate with disturbing clarity throughout La Jetée’s 28 minute duration.  Marker himself is best known as a maker of documentaries, La Jetée being his only fictional work. Marker’s approach to this film gives it the feel of a documentary, bringing a shocking sense of realism which involves the audience in a way that few science-fiction films (particularly Terry Gilliam’s lacklustre re-make of this film, Twelve Monkeys) manage to.

© James Travers 2000

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