La Jetée

Main Plot

"La Jetée," directed by Chris Marker, is a science fiction short film that unfolds in a post-apocalyptic Paris, devastated by World War III. The narrative centers on a man who is haunted by a vivid childhood memory of witnessing a tragic event at an airport. In the aftermath of the war, survivors live underground, and scientists conduct time travel experiments to find solutions for their dire situation. The protagonist is chosen for these experiments due to his strong mental image of the past. He is sent back in time to various moments, forming a poignant connection with a woman he encounters. As he travels between past, present, and future, he discovers unsettling truths about his own existence and the nature of time. The film is renowned for its innovative use of still photographs and its exploration of memory, identity, and destiny.

Characters

• Étienne Becker plays the protagonist, a man haunted by a childhood memory, who is sent through time to find a solution for humanity's survival after a devastating war.
• Jean Négroni narrates the story, guiding viewers through the protagonist's time-traveling journey in a post-apocalyptic world, emphasizing memory and human connection.
• Hélène Chatelain plays the Woman, a pivotal figure in the protagonist's memories, anchoring his emotional journey and the time-travel experiments central to the plot.

Ending Explained

In the conclusion of Chris Marker's film "La Jetée," the protagonist, known as "the man," discovers the true nature of his recurring childhood memory. Throughout the film, he is haunted by an image of a man being shot at an airport pier, witnessed when he was a child. As an adult, he becomes a subject in time travel experiments conducted by survivors of World War III, who seek to use his strong mental images to navigate the past and future. In the final scenes, the man is sent back to the pre-war era and reunites with a woman he has formed a deep connection with during his time travels. However, his captors from the future track him down. At the airport pier, he realizes that the man he saw die as a child was, in fact, himself. The tragic revelation comes as he is fatally shot by his pursuers, completing the loop of his memory. This cyclical narrative underscores the themes of time, memory, and fate, as the protagonist's life and death are inextricably linked to his past and future.