Homework Notes: La Jetée
– image via lemmy_caution on flickr
I decided to write this before reading any information that was available online. The following notes were written based on my own impressions after watching La Jetée for the first time.
La Jetée is a 30 minute short science fiction film. It deals with the following themes: war, time travel, romance, abusive authority and identity. The filmmaker’s decision to use (primarily) still images, limited sound effects and a narrator, works as a short film. The director relies on our own imagination and identification with the main character to create the illusion of distinct periods of time, the blending of time and communication between characters.
I would not be able to watch a feature length sci-fi film (as much as I love them) if it were composed entirely of still images, but I was surprised to find that my attention was held for the whole film and I had become emotionally invested in it by the end.
You can watch Pt.1, 2, and 3 on YouTube, thanks to RobinofSactown.
Here are some observations I made while watching: