Chris Marker: La Jetě / Harbord, Janet

Chris Marker's legendary "cin řoman" ("film novel") La Jetě (1962) is considered one of the greatest and most influential experimental films of all time. This short film--a postapocalyptic story composed almost entirely of black-and-white still photographs -- has been praised by cultural theorists and Netflix subscribers alike. In this illustrated study of "La Jetee," Janet Harbord focuses in part on the film's treatment of time -- its shifts from a pre-war past to a projected future a further future of the future (each with its own signature images and sound) -- arguing that in this way it addresses the nature of consciousness and the simultaneity of time-frames that we inhabit. Harbord moves easily from a close reading of the film to discussions of broader cultural issues, lucidly piecing together the enigma that is "La Jetee."

English