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La Jetee – analysis

4 April 2025 Amelie D'Orleans Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked the ideas of the plot. The lighting was fun. The use of stills made it feel disconnected, possibly like the minds of the people who have been made mad because of the experiments. But the stills where cool sometimes.	What didn’t you like? The whispering. It was probably there for a reason, but it doesn’t feel good on my ears. The museum was a bit boring. I get it was there to establish a connection between them, I was just bored.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? The lighting. The funny camera shots. The lighting in the present scenes gives a sense of unease. I like it.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? The stills. I think it was effective in the way it makes the story feel alien which ties into its sci-fi genre, I don’t think it works for every sci-fi story (like Star Wars. Star Wars wouldn’t be shot in stills)

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	We see that from the beginning, the woman will play a large part in the man’s story, her being the reason he is able to go back in time to do this research. The audience is immediately shown that she is of great importance due to her being the first full face that they see, the close-up being to emphasize how the only thing he remembers about that day is the woman and her appearance.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The men who are experimenting on the protagonist are speaking in German. This could be to show that they are othered or could be referencing similar events that happened during World War 2. While not specifically time travel, the Germans did experiment of people cruelly. This could also be showing the still present fear of the Germans, in the scenario that World War 3 where to occur. They are also shown from high angles.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed-out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) doesn’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	The past is presented in a much brighter, as they are from the above ground pre-WW3 Paris. While the Present is shown in a very dark shadow (low lighting). This is connoting the fact there is no electricity, relating to the Sci-Fi Genre. The past is shown as very colorful (for black and White), with nature and people walking around. While the Present is shown as very industrial and cold, with the lack of color and limited set space.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? Makes the audience wonder about this universe’s time travel policies. If he goes into the future to get the answers, did the people in the future get there by having him go forward in their timeline??
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	The past is bright. The present is dark. The lighting crates a contrast. This is because it shows the protagonists comfort in each area of time. The past being the brightest, the present being darker and the future being almost completely black, the only light being on the faces of the people he sees.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? Is it the moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? When he witnesses the man dying (himself). It is the catalyst for everything else in the film to happen. Because without the hard memory of that, he wouldn’t be able to go back in time.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? I assume that it is circular, but less like a circle and more like a jump ring. It is a loop but only for a certain amount of time, it will eventually be cut off and be able to change.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

What did you think was the intention of the filmmaker(s)? Intellectual message? Emotional response? Everyone is trapped in their time – they cannot escape it, even though memory. It is also about the concept of photography and cinema itself, trying to ‘freeze’ time with images despite time always being in motion. That change can happen in something that seems frozen. That when something especially special is found or discovered, it can change a timeline that seems frozen.

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment. Your own idea: By having the woman be in regular motion picture speed for one single scene, it emphasizes how the man has impacted her life, letting her somewhat break free from the restraints of the single frame per second/couple of seconds.

Aesthetic binary oppositions The use of still photo images are combined with traditional narrative cinematic techniques that bring them ‘to life’… until the moment around 18:00 when they flow together. The past is shown in the daylight, making the screen often very bright and almost colourful. While the present is shown in the dark

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments. Your example: The visual differences in the past and present are clear as a way to show the audience that the man is uncertain in the present, as it is a much more dreary and drab sense of life as they are living underground because of the war. While the past is shown in a much brighter light to show how he knows what’s going on and to emphasize how bad the present is because of the war and how he may have taken the past for granted, as he seems it through a sense of rose tinted glasses.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme I like the idea of showing rather than telling. (the only scene with movie images showing that there has been a change and it’s not frozen and set in stone).	Creating enigmas By having the woman at the beginning, it makes the audience wonder how she is connected to the moment and how she is so important to his strong attachments to this memory.
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) By having the narrative almost split in two. The past and the present. It gets the audience more involved in the love story unfolding between the man and the woman in the past.	Striking use of technical features I will probably not be using still images to tell my story. But i can see how there was a reason for them being used in the context of this short film.

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La Jetée analysis sheet (Marker, 1962)

4 April 2025 Alex Gajdosova Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked how it still managed to keep me engaged through narration, shot length, and music despite it only having one motion shot.	What didn’t you like? Why was the man from the present timeline doing the experiments in the future timeline, when the protagonist was shot – this would mean that the man was there in the past where the protagonist witnessed a man die on the observation platform as a child. Plot hole.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? Using liminal space to convey a sense of futurism, I liked how they got rid of all defying elements of reality in the setting when showing the future timeline. Allowing music to carry the narrative instead of dialogue, music is a universal language.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? The narration as it was taking away from the mystery.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	Before we are shown the man himself, the narration points out that this is a story of the child who was taken by his parents to watch the airplanes on the observation platform. Later stating: “Or had he invented that tender moment to prop up the madness to come?” This foreshadows the plot twist at the end of the short film, where he is shot. Establishing that memory is the only thing that can keep post-war citizens going.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	During the experimentation shots, there is a whispered voiceover of the experimenters speaking in German. This could be throwing shade at communist parties through film propaganda, given that Germany has links to Russia, France holds democratic values unlike the USSR.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) don’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	In the opening still we’re shown an observation platform, ‘la jetée’ which is also the title of the short film, establishing that this is the place where the pivotal events take place – the protagonist witnessing a man die there when he was a child and then being the man who died on the platform. Circular narrative.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory. What other questions are posed throughout the narrative?	Time. The short film proposes a question to the spectators, is time fixed? Therefore, questioning the inevitable, are we capable of preventing particular events? “there was no way to escape Time” is a quote spoken by the narrator when we’re shown the shooter aiming his gun at the protagonist. (Is there a reason why ‘Time’ is capitalised? Making into an entity on its own instead of a human construct.)
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	Romance and Fatality. During the romantic sequences between the woman and the protagonist the shot length is significantly longer in duration, holding our attention with them for longer; also the music becomes lighter and melodic compared to the operatic and dramatic score used during scenes where experimentation takes place or the situation of Paris is being explained by the narrator. For fatality, in the final sequence where the protagonist is running towards the woman the cuts become more frequent as the intervals between each shot is shortened, creating a sense of urgency.
Crisis – how was this conveyed? Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future? What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative?		I think the crisis is when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future – by doing this the man is faced with uncovering the full story of him seeing the woman on the observation platform, revealing quickly that he was the man he witnessed dying when he was a child. The reason why the initial experiment isn’t the crisis, in my opinion, is because the protagonist has been a prisoner for much longer, preceding the beginning of the short film, so I personally don’t believe that this was a crisis, especially for him since he’s probably been subjected to similar in the past. This heavily affects the narrative because it provides us a plot twist – the sequence of events leading up to this moment didn’t indicate that he might have been the man he witnessed as a child dying,
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative? The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake). What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular?		It is an open narrative because inevitably the narrator is bound to be stuck within this time frame. We start off with him in the underground prison being experimented on, present, his past consists of a memory witnessing a man dying on the observation platform as well as seeing the woman. His future is him dying on that platform, seeing the woman, yet there’s also a man there who kills him; he is the man who died in his past. Resolution isn’t truly met as the narrative is endlessly circular.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

What did you think was the intention of the filmmaker(s)? Intellectual message? Emotional response? Everyone is trapped in their time – they cannot escape it, even through memory. It is also about concept of photography and cinema itself, trying to ‘freeze’ time with images despite time always being in motion.
How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment.

Your own idea: Memory is static, you cannot change it, so by continuing to use a photomontage for the final sequence where the man is being shot dead on the observation platform, it conveys a message to the audience that you also can’t outrun fate. The protagonist was bound to witness a man die, whilst being the man who dies. This would, and probably still does, coax an emotional response from the audience by eluding to ideas of existentialism.

Aesthetic binary oppositions The use of still photo images are combined with traditional narrative cinematic techniques that bring them ‘to life’… until the moment around 18:00 when they flow together.
Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments.

Your example: The speed of cutting between clips used to reflect slower, romantic moments between him and his lover, letting us get drawn into their world compared to the fast-paced cutting which forces us to feel the imminent danger which is felt by the protagonist.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme The opening/establishing shot which is what the title is: an observation platform. I like how it is obvious at first, but as the story progresses it becomes clear how significant that location is for the protagonist – it’s where his most profound memory took place, as well as his death.	Creating enigmas In La Jetée the enigma is him, which only becomes apparent in the final sequence, but I like how the enigma was right in front of us the entire time. Subtly hinting at the answers throughout the short film.
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) I’d argue that this short film has an open ending. This is because the ending is also the beginning (his childhood memory which is why he’s selected for the experiment), a circular narrative which I think would be interesting to implement into my own short film.	Striking use of technical features The shift from still images to a second long motion shot of the lover opening her eyes was impactful because I had become so accustomed to the still images used up until that point.

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La Jetée analysis

4 April 2025 Charlotte Crawford Leave a comment

La Jetée (Marker, Korea, 1962) – Analysis Sheet for Evaluative Commentary

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? The music used and changes at different moments, for example the higher pitch in the romance photos. The overall plot was also good, and the use of photos instead of actual film was unique.	What didn’t you like? The photos could’ve been clearer, was hard to follow at times, although they added to the effect of an apocalyptic setting.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? The style, I like the order of photos and how they built the background of the plot instead of introducing the protagonist straight away.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? I wouldn’t use the music at as high of a volume as I felt at times it overpowered the voiceover and made it more difficult to understand.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	Introduced through one of his memories as a child of a man dying, later learnt to be him dying. Highlighting how we cannot escape the past and the connection between past future and present. This shows the profound effect memories have on us as people (especially the protagonist) and the strength of human connection can overpower his real-time experiences, he always remembers her no matter the time he’s in.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The scientists are the first established in present time outside the protagonist’s memory, this could be an early sign of their power over him as he is only used for their benefit and is eventually killed back in the past.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location was Paris. The bombed-out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) doesn’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	The location of their last meeting was a museum, they are looking at animals, dead as a benefit to humans. They are really looking at themselves as soon he will die as he is no longer useful to the scientists. Also, can be reflective of how he was treated as an animal being experimented on with little choice and then being killed once he was deemed unneeded.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? What is the benefit of his time travelling, how will that help the present if the future is already set? Scientists want to find a way to change the future, or they could just want to see future events. Causes audience to question their motives, did they just want to hurt the man due to a previous hatred?
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	Life in the past vs his present, where does he want to stay. I think he wants to be wherever the women is as he continuously returns to be where she is and spends his time during his time travel, with her.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? I think the crisis was the protagonist’s realization it was him shot on the pier, it was his worst fears coming true and all his work to overcome the trauma of seeing that man die as a child becomes his reality as he will live both experiences. Shows the idea that you can never escape the past.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? It feels like an ending as we do not see him after he is finally shot at the end., however it is circular as he is also seen being shot at the beginning. I think the ending is endless as the cycle can be repeated forever, yet it still felt like an ending as we do not see this happen and there is no more narrative.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment. Your own idea: By using photographs, the impression of stopping in time is given which is overall false as time cannot be stopped. Can also reflect how the narrator felt stuck in time as he could never escape the boardwalk and the trauma it gave him as a child.

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments. Your example: Shows how the narrator feels his life didn’t truly start until he changed time, could reflect the different ups and downs in life. Could also show how his childhood trauma caused him to feel stuck in time, frozen there like a photograph.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme Characters are well established as they are mentioned in the voiceover along with a photo of them, we are told only what the narrator wants us to know about them. Adds a sense of mystery as we only see photos and how the narrator describes them rather than seeing genuine clips and shots of them.	Creating enigmas Cause the audience to ask questions, in La Jettee we are constantly asking who the man the narrator sees die is, we are left waiting to find out and after we do all other questions feel answered and everything fits together. It is an engaging concept.
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) La Jetée was a good example of an open ending, gives inspiration to include an ending that is up for interpretation for the audience to decide what happens. A non-linear narrative structure can be inspirational as it portrays time travel well.	Striking use of technical features Pictures fit together seamlessly especially in the scene of his lover in bed; by including the only moving shot then, it gives the effect that whole scene is a constant clip of her. It may be difficult to recreate.

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La Jetée

4 April 2025 Laila Siham Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked the way the music added extra dimension to the still images, it clearly showed the different moods.	What didn’t you like? I didn’t like the tone of voice used in the voice over. The images were black and white, and the tone of voice and delivery was deep and mysterious creating the energy to drop.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? I like the idea of the still images and voice overs; I think it’s different. However, I won’t use a still image for over 4-5 seconds as that is when the audience’s attention gets lost.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? I won’t incorporate the narrative storyline because it didn’t interest me.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	When establishing the protagonist, we are told he is not the first Guinea pig and others have gone “mad” when selecting their next victim, they chose a prisoner with a very memorable and clear imagination helping them when trying to time travel. It says “he was frightened” as he had heard past stories about what it does to people. The whole scene when first addressing the protagonist is used with a close-up which really catches his emotions.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The scientists are first established at the 4:00-4:45 mark, the voice over is describing what they do (taking prisoners and taking them for experimental reasons with time travelling) it clearly describes that their experiments have not worked yet and made people “mad”.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We were told immediately that the location was Paris. The bombed-out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) doesn’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	When establishing the location, when introducing the film production and directors and other people who were involved with the process there is a wide and long shot image of an airport however, when establishing the key location (the jetty) it shows us around three still images of it, the children watching the planes departing, the air hostess walking to the planes. This is when we see the main location of where the plot happens.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? Do the women know he is going to die? Does he know that if he picks the past he will die? How did his younger self see him die?
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	This starts off with the women breaking the still images and seen moving. However, this happens in the past (his time travelling) and completely jumps to a worm’s view shot of the scientist quickly adjust the audience mind between past and present day.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? I think the first experiment is when he is when he spots the women from the airport. His memory recognizes her and now his realisation that he can pick the future or past and he picks the past shows a true reflection into the first obstacle he faced was seeing her and wanting to stay.
Resolution – is it a closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? I think the ending the ending is closed as you can easily gather that the man getting shot at the end was him meaning that when he was younger, he watched himself being shot. I think if you follow the story line and know that the reason he was killed is because picked the wrong time travel (picked the past not future).

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment. Your own idea: I think the film makers intentions was that their love was never to be (not meant to be together) no matter how hard he tried, even when picking the past to stay with her he died. I think this was meant to happen for a reason, did the women manipulate him and did she know he was going to die.

Aesthetic binary oppositions The use of still photo images is combined with traditional narrative cinematic techniques that bring them ‘to life’… until the moment around 18:00 when they flow together.

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments. Your example: The past vs feature. The past is the place that is calling him, his loved one is there, and he is enjoying it more. The feature shows new technology and different ways of presenting themselves.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme: The way the characters are seen/shot after the location. It gives the audience a tension of who the characters are.	Creating enigmas: Establishing the location, before any key characters. Talking about why they are at the jetty.
Narrative structure (non-linear? Open/ closed ending?) The ending was closed in this short film, it gave an easy understanding from the audience’s point of view of what happened at the end. I think I would incorporate this in my short film as it rounded off the needing neatly.	Striking use of technical features: This short film uses still images instead of live acting, this is a striking technical feature. It has given me a new feature to work with but getting my narrative across could be difficult.

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La Jetée (Marker, Korea, 1962) – Analysis Sheet for Evaluative Commentary

4 April 2025 Scarlett Lilley Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked the sound in the movie, I found having the whispering and thumping sound made the movie more intense in parts. I found it really added some mystery into the film.	What didn’t you like? I found some of the still shots and the narrative didn’t completely match up, some of the still shots were repetitive and the narrative didn’t completely explain parts I found.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? Not introducing your main character to create mystery, I also liked the shock moment of when the eyes opened for that brief second I found that affect really interesting.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? The still shots I think did not provide a lot of information and did not expand on the plot. As at the end, it isn’t fully explained I think in a short movie you really need a clear plot.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	We know that he is a prisoner due to the voice over explaining that experiments are done on them. We also see the large destruction that the nuclear bomb has caused. You see the Prison beds and rooms conveying that is where he must stay. This shows the uncomfortable settings that he lived in and how unhuman the experiments are due to the uncertainty of the time.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	Scientists gaze is always on the camera, normally close to the camera with a MCU and CU conveys to the viewer that they are intimating with the focus of the camera being on the face showing the power they possibly have
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) don’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	The movie starts with the planes opening the scene, this tells us that it is a current movie as the planes clearly being identified as Modern. This allows the spectator to understand that is this either set in the current time or the future just from one of the first shots. This first scene allows the spectator to establish the time and the location of the observation deck.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	The quick shots of the experimenters show the mystery of them they create many questions for the spectator such as why is a prisoner? who are the experimenters? the close ups of them possibly show the seriousness of them with their face lacking emotion .
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	The binary oppositions of maybe Good vs. Evil within the film the way that the experimenters are framed its very tightly and they never show any emotion creating a eerie effect while the movie allows yourself to align with the main character as you see him form a romantic relationship in the future it gives him a better sense of character compared to the experimenters
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	I think the crisis point of the movie starts from the very beginning, I think it shows that he is troubled from the very beginning having this vivid memory of a woman dying.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	The in my opinion is that he is stuck in a loop, the scene starts with the moment on the observation deck and it ends with the child version seeing him die. I believe that this suggests that the narrative continues on.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment. Your own idea:

I think there is a brief moment where she opens her eyes, this breaks away from the normal still image’s and creates a emotional and stand out effect to the viewer this a moment that the filmmaker intentionally.

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments. Your example:

I think when they travel to the future acts as a opposition to the past vs. present under score changes to a lighter tone symbolizing that they are in love and ion the present the underscore was much darker.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme
I think having a overview of the area whereof where your film is taking
place as it links your character introduction to a place.
I love the idea of not introducing your main character identify I think it creates mystery and questions for the viewer.
The plot for this film was interesting the idea of a narrative loop could be something I might use,

Creating enigmas
I think having unanswered questions within the movie, is something I will definitely use as inspiration from this movie as I effect it had on me on the viewer was impactful .

Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?)
I think I may follow the linear story setting but may use the technique as inspiration of having a open ending.

Striking use of technical features
The black and white setting created a gloomy look of the setting, the still images of the settings are also something that i may adapt into my own movie.

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La Jetée Analysis

4 April 2025 Sophie Mutton Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked the style of using still images and then using a dissolve to make it seem almost as if they were moving because it was very unique	What didn’t you like? The story was a bit confusing, especially when the protagonist was sent into the future
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? Despite being confusing, I like the idea of using a time travel/post nuclear war story. I would also make my own version in black and white like this as it gives it a more vintage feel which is almost film noir reminiscent	What ideas won’t you use? Why? I probably wouldn’t use the still images because while it is a cool style, I don’t think I’d enjoy making a film like this

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	A little boy standing on the railing of the Jetée and is suggested to be the protagonist—we never see his face. A POV shot is used to align with him; you can see the women walking to the plane from his point of view, and a few moments later, the point of view of the man dying even before the ending, where we find out that the protagonist is actually the one who died.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The scientists are shot using a low angle to show how they are important, just as the narration says ‘the victors stood guard over an empire of rats’, to suggest the way they rule over the people who live in the underground and turn them into their experiments. Furthermore, the use of the low angles on the scientists can be used to further suggest how menacing and evil they are—not only because of how they are using people for their experiments, but also for when they plot to murder the protagonist at the end.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) don’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	Time is established through narration, as well as the images—the narration suggesting when the protagonist is being sent into the past. The future is established by the use of costume design—the people from the future are shown with a mark on their forehead and the futuristic design of where they are As well as this, sound is important in establishing when time travel is happening—there is a thumping noise that is reminiscent of a heartbeat that quickens when he gets closer to a different timeline
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? Is this going to happen again?
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	La Jetée uses the binary oppositions of beginning vs end by establishing the protagonists’ opinions on when he saw the man die at the beginning – how he was traumatised. This is opposed by the realisation that he was that man at the end of the short film – how his older and younger self coexist.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	I think that it is the man dying in the beginning as it poses many questions to the audience—who was the man and how and why did he die? The film is built around it; the man wanting to travel back to when that exact moment happens to meet the woman again in the past
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? The film’s ending isn’t exactly closed thanks to the circular timeline – we know that war is going to break out again and that what we just saw is going to happen all over

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment.
Your own idea:
There is a moment of movement, where the frames merge together to create the illusion of the woman blinking her eyes – suggests that they are breaking away from the time loop to maybe give the audience a glimmer of hope and tranquillity, though that immediately breaks at the cut to one of the scientists

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments.
Your example:
The sounds in the background – something reminiscent of birds chirping – gives the audience a sense of reality which gets broken for dramatic effect

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme I really liked the use of narration, especially in French, to establish key points of my film	Creating enigmas While I do want to include a narration to give exposition, I also want to include mysteries that will be solved in the form of plot twists, as it is in La Jetée. You hear about this mysterious figure who the protagonist saw die when he was younger, who ends up being himself from the future
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) I’d rather do a linear plot rather than the non-linear story in La Jetée, but maybe include an open ending	Striking use of technical features I don’t want to do the still images concept and would rather make it like a regular film, but I do really like the look of black and white/film noir which I will probably do for my own film

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La Jetée (Marker, Korea, 1962) – Analysis Sheet for Evaluative Commentary

4 April 2025 Kendal Murray Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? The darkness and bleakness of the post war society, and how the music blended	What didn’t you like? I liked the whole film
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? Pictures in film (mix media) circular narrative and the mystery genre	What ideas won’t you use? Why? Post apocalyptic settings and dystopia

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	When first introducing the protagonist, the narrator describes him as a “prisoner” and “guinea pig”. These descriptions give the audience a key insight into the fate of the man and ultimately what he means to the story- his life ends in tragedy. As most of his adult like was being a “guinea pig” for the scientists
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	We first see the woman through the eyes of our main protagonist, showing us that she is only a memory, like something that the protagonist is grasping onto. She is portrayed to have no agency, only existing throughout the story to serve as emotional motivation for the male protagonist
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The audience are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed-out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) doesn’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	In the beginning of the film, we are initially told that the traumatic death that the man seen many years ago cements Orly airport And Paris itself as a place which holds a lot of emotional strength for the man- not including the repeated images of a woman that he cannot rid himself of.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? -= who are the scientists- how are they sending the protagonist back in time, how are they in his memory
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	In the present, there is a stark visual contrast between the architecture seen in post/pre apocalyptic Paris. The set design and visual appearance of the set show the binary oppositions throughout the transition of Paris. There is no clear indication of what the underground tunnels look like, showing the desolate-ness of Paris post apocalypse.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? – the crisis point would be, the man figuring out that the scientists want to kill him, leading him to gain help from the future humans- which he ultimately rejects.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? The story is circular, similar to the ending of lost highway by David lynch, these events will forever repeat as the protagonist cannot recognize their cations or mend them until it’s too late. but the spectator may feel robbed as there is not a resolution which is common in western mainstream cinema.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments. Your example: Alternatively, this technique could be seen a an attempt to create a look of “found footage”- someone in the diegetic world or le jete, presumably in the future has found documentation of the man and his memories that the scientists recorded. The use of still image filmmaking creates the effect of someone looking through an album of pictures. Additionally, the score in this film could be an indicator of this presumed person’s feelings and emotions while looking through these findings.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme- The tragic romance and themes of memory in this film inspired me to base my stylistic choices on a French new wave technique, although I would like to take a different route away from having my film be a romance. The post-war industrial setting was not my preference, although the characters being doomed from the beginning is a plot/theme that I would like to explore further.

Creating enigmas- The themes of mystery and tension created throughout this scene have inspired my thoughts about set design. I liked the dark lighting and cinematography which influenced the dark themes of this short film. Although I do not plan on having a romantic interest in this film as I want to keep the cast as small as possible so that the audience can be enriched with the themes and aesthetic of the story.

Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) I like the idea of a circular story, finishing where I started

Striking use of technical features. I liked the idea of the circular story line, while also keeping elements of mystery. We do not find out if this process will repeat forever or if a resolution is ever found.

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La Jetée Analysis

4 April 2025 Iris Hougardy Leave a comment

La Jetée (Marker, Korea, 1962) – Analysis Sheet for Evaluative Commentary

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I liked its unique use of photos edited together rather than one continuous video. I also liked the style of shots used focusing on light and dark.	What didn’t you like? I didn’t like how it was hard to follow, you had to focus on it to understand it. I also didn’t like how the characters had no dialogue.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? I could use the idea of still black and white shots to create a almost moving image.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? Maybe not the vague voiceover as I found it difficult to understand what was happening.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	This man is introduced as a protagonist but not as the most powerful being within the film which is unconventional for films where heroes usually come out on top. He is represented as a dull and depressed man this is shown through his introduction, his introduction being him as a child watching a man die on the pier, with his characters baseline being a negative traumatic experience it allows the audience to understand that his storyline is going to match that of his introduction and become full circle. He is a depressive and melancholy character, and his experience haunts the narrative.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The woman in this movie is the only woman conveyed through. This could mean not many women being left due to the nucellar destruction or it could relate to the stereotypical ideology that woman cannot do technological things such as time travel and is only represented for love. Her character seems to add a positive twist to the plot, her character seems to lift the narrative’s mood when mentioned or featured. The choice of real rolling footage being her represents and reenforces the idea that she is the key within this story, she is present for his life and death and is a key factor within both those things within both of those things.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) don’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	We discover that the place this is set is through of establishing shots, an example being the Eiffel tower surrounded by the wreckage and damages, establishing to the audience where it is set and also what is happening in the time of the film
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? I think there are many questions throught the narrative, the key ones i have is…when this man comes back from the past does this place freeze in time as it only exists because he has gone to it. Did the man who shopt him send him there to meet that woman purposely or unintentionally. Why kill him at the end, is it because he chose to go back to the past, why kill him?
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	I think a dominate binary opposition ideoligy represented in this film is the idea between peace and war. I think the sheer stark contrast between the effects of war on people and the effects of people due to love is very key. The idea that hate drives some people’s motives and love and peace drives others. It gives off them (scientists) vs me (the main man) vibe.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? I believe the crisis point is when he realizes that he is the man he saw shot on the pier, the realization that he is the reality of his worst nightmare.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? I believe visibly the story is closed and ended as the man is dead. However, i believe there is a lot of plot holes as to what characters did certain things for.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

How was this achieved? The use of photomontage separates each frame of the story into a frozen image – even though these are joined together using traditional narrative film techniques such as voiceover, dissolves, fades and music. As the man begins to ‘live’ more and more in the ‘past’ with his lover, the space between these frames speeds up to resemble ‘motion picture’ speed at one point. The stuffed animals in the museum are also ‘frozen’ in a single moment. Your own idea: I think the pint of la Jetée is to highlight our unknowing and how naive we are to what could be happening around us without our knowledge.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme To establish setting i like the idea of photo like elements.	Creating enigmas I like the use of a plot this with a unresolved narrative
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) I like the use on non liner narrative	Striking use of technical features

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La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962) Analysis

4 April 2025 Oliver Dodds Leave a comment

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? The concept was good, there was some very cinematic and beautiful stills	What didn’t you like? There is a plot hole – how did his murderer travel back in time if they needed the main character to travel in time? Still images were jarring
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? The use of dissolves was creative, improvising with props was nice. I liked the time travel element.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? Really predictable ending, I definitely won’t use still images. I think they could have gotten more out of the time travel

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	Only talked about in 3^rd person. No name given. First seen a full six minutes into the film. No name conveys a more “guinea pig” character. We are shown no backstory apart from this memory, and the only hint to a past for this character is when he is asked about his “combat necklace” from time as a soldier, as well as being referred to as a “prisoner” (though the German whispers of the scientists suggests Frace lost the war and was taken over by another country) Despite not appearing till later, the film opens with the man’s childhood memory at the airport, which is the focus of the action that takes place later.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	The woman is the first character shown, as part of The Man’s memory. Then we are shown the scientists and other guinea pigs, creating the setting for the films “present”, all before seeing the main character. The “future” humans are distinguished with a dot on their forehead.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We are told immediately that the location is Paris. The bombed out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) don’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	The setting is told to the audience to be Paris in the third line of the film, and the inventive scene showing the bombing of Paris through whiting out portions of the skyline tells the audience of the post-apocalyptic setting. The tunnels underneath Paris form the majority of the “present” setting.
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	The main enigma presented by the film is the memory of the main character that allows him to travel through time, which is slowly answered by introducing the character if The Woman as a central character and the ending revealing that the whole plot was leading up to creating the memory The Man saw which allows him to time travel
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	The predatory and cruel “present” contrasts with the kind past and future. While the “present” is confined in small tunnels and are always claustrophobic scenes filled with darkness, with shadows or sunglasses obscuring the scientists faces, the past is bright and sun lit and open and the future is wide and the people show their faces clearly, and in both times The Man is treated with kindness
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	The crisis point is when the man is to be executed, which is when he makes the choice to use the Future People’s offer to go back in time to the airport to see The Woman again, which leads to one of the Scientists shooting him at the airport, which his child-self witnesses, allowing the plot to happen
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	The narrative is closed in a way that means The Man will relive the plot over and over again, repeatedly witnessing his death and going back in time to be there to be killed.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

What did you think was the intention of the filmmaker(s)? Intellectual message? Emotional response? The film gives the idea of being trapped in one’s past: always preferring life in the past to the present. It also gives the idea of being afraid of the future or what might come, choosing to live in nostalgia rather than giving in and going on to your own future. It says that no matter what opportunities life presents them with, people will choose to trap themselves in the past.

How was this achieved? Your own idea: The collection of stills creates an idea of a fading memory, only recounting a story in still images. The photographs also create an idea of being frozen in time, trapped in moments rather than “moving” along. The only moving image in the film being from the woman, who is symbolic of the main character’s link to the past, also shows this idea of remembering the past more fondly than anticipating the future.

Aesthetic binary oppositions The naturalistic representation of the past greatly contrasts with the more interpretive, symbolic representation of the future society

Effect of these oppositions? Your example: This contrast contributes to the main character’s preferable view of the past.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme The film manages to do a lot on a low budget, which is admirable	Creating enigmas I liked opening the movie with a mystery to have it resolved at the end
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) Opening the movie with the ending with a lot of information absent and then filling in the information at the end was a cool concept	Striking use of technical features The transitions between images were artistic

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La Jetée

4 April 2025 Sophia Sebastianelli Leave a comment

La Jetée (Marker, Korea, 1962) – Analysis Sheet for Evaluative Commentary

Part 1: Brief Reference

What did you like about the film? I like the film because there was a narration over the top allowing you to see the emotions and facial expression of the actors and actress, although the imaging was still shot images, it didn’t always feel like it, which was conveyed through dissolves.	What didn’t you like? Although I like some of the still image shots, some of it felt very repetitive, making the story feel very hard to follow along with and keep up with it. Some moments of the plot were hard to follow along, making the story quite confusing.
What ideas could you use? Narrative or style? I might use a narration to help introduce my film.	What ideas won’t you use? Why? I don’t think my film will be in all still shots as I think it doesn’t convey the whole story.

Part 2: In-Depth Study – Narrative

Narrative Feature	Example	Your own example
Establishing protagonist – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	Introduced only in narration – first in third person as “a man marked by an image”; then in first person -memory of incident at the airport. We don’t see him until the first experiment is shown. This shows how core the act of remembering is to his identity – indeed we find out very little about him (he remains nameless) apart from his ‘remembering’ (even when he is travelling in time).	There is an image of a young boy alongside two grownups (possibly parents), this could convey the young boy watching the scene and not seeing his face leaves a sense of mystery. Using text at 1:35 describes the emotion of what the protagonist felt without seeing an actual image of him. “The violence scene that upset him” this shows that the death and the scene caused him sadness and impacted him quite a lot.
Establishing other characters – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	The Woman is the first person we see (“the only image to survive the war”) – and she is defined only by the fact the narrator remembers her. Feminist critics may comment on the fact she barely seems to exist outside the experiences of the narrator and her growing belief in him.	There is a lot of mid shots of the scientist, there is a few close-up shots of the scientist showing their important status in the film. There are also some low angles shot showing that they are in control and leaders and are the ones controlling the time travelling.
Establishing location (time and place) – what information do we find out? How is it conveyed?	We were told immediately that the location was in Paris. The bombed-out wreckage of the city (real WW2 images) doesn’t immediately establish that this is the future until the narrator mentions radiation. The underground location beneath the Palais de Chaillot is shown by intercut images of broken cherubs and other sculptures.	There are many locations shot in Gardens exploring the romantic theme of the film, this also shows the peace and calm life before bombing and war
Creating Enigmas – what are they? How are they created?	The image the narrator obsesses over is the central enigma: who is the man he witnesses dying? How does he die? Who is the woman? The still images and voiceover powerfully evoke the nature of memory.	What other questions are posed throughout the narrative? Why were the protagonists chosen to time travel? What is the significance of the women? Why did parents take their children to watch planes on Sunday morning? Were the women a decoy for the scientist to kill the man?
Narrative binary oppositions	The ‘Living Present’ vs Past/Future. As the film progresses, what constitutes the ‘present’ (for the protagonist) seems to shift from his dystopian subterranean society to the ‘past’ of pre-apocalypse Paris. This is conveyed by the faster rhythm of the montage and the sequence (18:00-18:49) where the images almost become like traditional cinema.	Men vs women – the women are represented as an interest to the man but also appears at the end of the film to look like a decoy for the scientists to kill the protagonists.
Crisis – how was this conveyed?	Is it the first experiment? The moment the man spots the woman from the airport? Or is it when the future society offers him the chance to escape to the future?	What do you think is the crisis point? How does this affect the rest of the narrative? I think the crisis point is the first experiment because that is the time when things change for the man, and he isn’t really his normal sense.
Resolution – is it closed or open narrative?	The narrative is closed – but it is also in a loop: the narrator is both the dying man and the child watching the scene. This ‘time paradox’ has inspired films as diverse as The Terminator and Looper (as well as 12 Monkeys which is almost a remake).	What do you think about the end? Is it closed – or endlessly circular? I think the ending is closed, as the man has seen the future and has been in the past and present so therefore there is an ending to the film.

Part 3: Meaning and Effect

Effect of these oppositions? Shows the intensity of emotion the narrator feels with his lover: like he is finally ‘living’ in moving time rather than a series of frozen, separated moments.

Inspirations – what ideas did this film give you for your own short film?

Establishing characters, setting, plot, theme I really liked the setting of the film and the minimalistic look, it felt very powerful but also very simple. I really liked the plot of not knowing some of character and the reveal of the ending was really good and interesting to watch.	Creating enigmas I really liked the enigma of not knowing who the man was at the start, it really made the film worth watching as this enigma pulled me as the audience and spectator to continue watching the film.
Narrative structure (non-/linear? Open/ closed ending?) I really liked the use of non linear narrative. The nonlinear narrative helped develop the character which resulted in in-depth emotional involvement of the audience.	Striking use of technical features The use of singular image put together, creates greater involvement for the viewer, after a while the use of singular images felt like it had merged into actual videos as you got used to the shots.