La Jetée

La Jetée Analysis

This film opens with a shot of The Jetty and ends right back where Davos started. This completes the strange loop in time in which Davos traveled in the film. It began with his childhood memory, a moment which he fixated upon his entire life and ended with him finally understanding why this moment was so significant. But the price was paid with his life. Davos' seeming obsession with the past leads the viewer to understand that anyone who is unable or unwilling to let go of their past is one who gives up their ability to make a future for themselves. And to add to that sad reality, the film reveals that Davos gives up his present life as well.

The use of still images captures the theme that Davos is "stuck" in time. Even though he is able to travel between future and past he remains a hostage to a single moment in his life. And his need to unearth the meaning from this leads to his demise. Quite simply this film is stating that a human beings ability to be whole and moving forward in life is connected to their ability to live in the present and not hold onto the past in a way that causes them to believe that living there is better than building a life here and now. This film starkly captures this with the still photographs shot only in black and white. It delivers pieces of the story rather than the whole for us to experience. This calls us to question in our own life, "Am I living in a loop over and over again?" And this type of film can potentially cause a viewer to discover if they are living in the same way as Davos.

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