La Jetée (1962)

I might just go back in time for some hottie action too...

Genre: Experimental Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Short (France)

Starring: Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain

Directed By: Chris Marker

Overview: After a terrible war has devastated the world, science offers one man the power to travel in time, in hopes that he will bring back the means to secure survival for the future.

Acting: The narration was good: deep and serious. This was all done with still images, so the static feel of the emotion has to carry forward for several seconds. It's sure different, but really effective. I liked the way this was directed, very much.
Rating: 7

Cinematography: The photographer is really the one who has to be rated for capturing the moment. Great job. Is it easier or harder to make every shot perfect when you only have half an hour of film to shoot? Either way, the images captured were terrific: the airport, the haunting man with the glasses, the woman... Very original.
Rating: 8

Script: The way this was told, slow and calculated like the images, was perfectly appropriate. There was enough silence to get the impact, while having enough explanation for us to truly feel the importance of this mission, these worlds he goes to, and the depth of what happens after.
Rating: 7

Plot: I like the story and its concept, nice and simple with a twist. Being 28 minutes, it still doesn't shove all this info down your throat super fast, though I would have liked to understand a bit more about the future and how it worked, as we only saw an abstract.
Rating: 8

Mood: This category excelled, though from time to time it wasn't nearly as engrossing as it could have been. Perhaps the narration was a little weak or the images just weren't poignant enough. Maybe more images of devastation or a higher budget would have done better. I guess I'm not sure why it didn't appeal to me more, but the style is unmatched.
Rating: 8

Yipee! A Pier!

Overall Rating: 76% (Truly Unique)

Aftertaste: This is a 28 minute film that was the inspiration for the film 12 Monkeys. I really don't remember that movie, but this short was very fun. Why do I recommend this to everyone? It's 28 minutes, and considered a classic, what do you have to lose? I liked it, and it's super-original.