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The Jetty (The Pier)

7.9

10,393

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Twelve Monkeys

Original title: La Jetée
Year: 1962
Running time: 29 min.
Country: France
Director: Chris Marker
Screenwriter: Chris Marker
Music: Trevor Duncan
Cinematography: Jean Chiabaud (B&W)
Cast: Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich, Jacques Ledoux, André Heinrich, Pierre Joffroy, Jacques Branchu, Étienne Becker, Philbert von Lifchitz, Ligia Borowcyk, Janine Klein
Producer: Argos Films
Genre: Sci-Fi. Fantasy | Half-length Film. Time Travel. Nuclear Holocaust. Experimental Cinema. Post-apocalyptic Future
Synopsis / Plot: The world is in ruins in the aftermath of a nuclear war. A team of scientists realise that the only way to save humanity from extinction is to send someone into the past or the future to ask for help. After a number of failed experiments, the scientists find one man, whose strong recollection of a childhood experience at Orly Airport makes him the ideal subject.

Awards: 1963: Award Jean Vigo for Best Short.

Critics' reviews

"I find it tediously pretentious, but there are striking images in it"

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"History and memory (...) allow a cratered and disemboweled vision of futuristic Paris to be represented through images from WWII (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"

Jaime N. Christley: Slant
"[It] eschewed traditional narrative techniques to startling effect, blending documentary, fiction, fantasy..."

Kevin Jagernauth: IndieWire
"With its brilliant conceit, which tightens the narrative and offers a lesson on editing fundamentals, the film reaches a conclusion common to a lot of time-travel stories"

Scott Tobias: AV Club
"One of the best of all SF films is this haunting, apocalyptic 27-minute French short"

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
"The bittersweet music, the narrator's steady voice that sounds like a scientist's, the museum-quality photos, and the gripping plot all make 'La Jetee' an inimitable experience."

Jonathan Curiel: San Francisco Chronicle
"A haunting 27-minute sci-fi masterwork"

Philip French: The Guardian
"[Marker] subtly suggests a future environment (...) The fluid montage leads the viewer into the sensation of watching moving images"

Time Out

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Ranking Lists Position

4 My Favorite Short Films (fiction) (70)
39 My Favorite French Movies (56)

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