The film that Terry Gilliam compared to poetry
When it comes to cinematic poetry, Terry Gilliam has constructed plenty of visual masterpieces of his own. Through unforgettable gems like Brazil and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam established his unique artistic vision which contained elements of comedy, horror and political critique while exploring uncharted territory.
Over the course of his career, Gilliam has cited many filmmakers as sources of influence and his work has inspired many others such as Quentin Tarantino. However, there was one director whom Gilliam considered to be a cinematic poet. In fact, he even named that director’s most famous work as a crowning achievement of the cinematic art form.
The director in question is none other than French New Wave luminary Chris Marker, an exceptionally talented artist whose work has had a huge impact on multiple mediums. Marker’s films have resisted categorisations because of their elusive nature, often referred to as meditative essays or even sociocultural analyses.
Gilliam was especially blown away when he experienced Marker’s 1962 masterpiece La Jetée. The filmmaker showered praise on Marker’s timeless creation, claiming that the structural elements of the short film produces effects that most directors would be envious of and the editing of the film is simply unparalleled.
“It works because it’s so technically brilliant,” Gilliam said. “It works on a musical level. It’s like we’re listening to music in it. The images are coming up and the editing is the most extraordinary editing I’ve ever seen because it’s a rhythm he’s setting up and the narrator’s voice… you’re dealing with poetry at this point.”
La Jetée is one of the greatest additions to the history of the sci-fi genre, Marker creates a bleak vision of a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by nuclear war. Subverting the conventional dialectics of time and space, the film envisions a strange time travel experiment while showing us beautiful still photographs.
Watch Chris Marker’s La Jetée below.
