After WW III a man (Davos Hanich) becomes a prisoner of war in a concentration camp in apocalyptic Paris. There have been several prisoners that were being used as guinea pigs for some unknown experiment. The experiments resulted in the men either dying or going insane. Eventually, the man ends up being one of the detainees that are used in the experiments.
The main scientist (Jacques Ledoux) explains to the man what they are trying to do. The experimenters are trying to find people who can withstand the mental confusion and shock of time travel. The experimenters find that the man has an unusually strong memory of an event in his past where he is on the observation deck at the airport, as a child. His memory is of a woman (Helene Chatelain) who is also on the deck watching the planes come and go. He also vaguely recalls an incident on the deck where he believes he saw a man die. Using this memory, the experimenters send the man back in time at various points where he reconnects with the woman. They begin to develop a romantic relationship with each other.
Once it is established that he can handle the effects of time travel they send him to the future. The purpose of sending him far into the future is to contact with future people who have developed technologically advanced ways of saving the present. In the future the man connects with people who give him a power unit that can be used in the present to reestablish the present’s industry and restore society.
The man is then moved to another part of the camp. He comes to realize that, now that he has accomplished his mission, they plan on executing him. Since they have an easier way of traveling through time, the people of the future communicate with him and tell him that if he returns to the future, they will protect him. Instead, the man asks to be sent back to the past to reunite with the woman.
“La Jetee” was released in 1962 and was written and directed by Chris Marker. It is a 28-minute French science fiction film done in the French New Wave style. It is also a romance and a time travel film. The movie is represented by a series of black and white still photographs. There is only one time where there is a brief video shot of the woman waking up and opening her eyes.
The film contains no dialogue except for some background noise in German at the camp and some background conversation at the airport terminal. The entire film is narrated in voice over. The French language version is narrated by Jean Negroni. There is an English language version that was narrated by James Kirk. In addition, there is a French language version with English subtitles. The combination of the still shots, narration and editing gives the film a natural flow and pulse. The short also uses minimal sound effects and music as well as noir style lighting techniques.
Jetee means pier, jetty or dock. In the film it represents observation deck where people go to watch the planes take off and land.
The film is said to have inspired Terry Gilliam to make “12 Monkeys” 1995.