``Twelve Monkeys'' Genes of Hitchcock's ``Vertigo'' embedded in Gilliam's time travel

``La Jetée'' had a direct influence on the screenwriters, Mr. and Mrs. Peoples.

One is the short film ` `La Jetée '' made in France in 1962. This film, directed by photographer and journalist Chris Marker (1921-2012), is a simple 28-minute film composed entirely of black-and-white still photographs, but it is a masterpiece of science fiction film with a keen sense of sensibility. It is still loved by many people.

The fact that the husband and wife screenwriters of ``Twelve Monkeys'' (David and Janet Peoples) were inspired by ``La Jetée'' when they wrote the script became a hot topic when it was released in 1995, with audiences clamoring for the original story. I remember wanting to see this short story.

It can be said that the early scene in which a boy witnesses the death of a man at an airport, and is captivated by the smile of a beautiful woman he sees there for decades, remains almost the same in ``Twelve Monkeys.'' The same goes for the fact that a time travel experiment is carried out to save the Earth from its collapse.

However, in ``La Jetée,'' rather than immersing himself in an elaborate machine, he repeatedly traveled through time to the past and future using a simpler method similar to a consciousness experiment. . Even though it is set in a world that has collapsed, it is full of nostalgia for the past and human warmth, and especially during the loving exchange between a man and a woman, the moment when the still image starts to move for a moment, I can't help but shed tears. Thing. This work, including this passage, cannot be categorized as a ``technology-type'' work, and is filled with a mysterious charm that touches one's consciousness.

“La Jetée” preview

In fact, Chris Marker, who worked on ``La Jetée,'' was also planning to be involved in the production of ``Twelve Monkeys'' in some way. However, due to his work in Hollywood, the amount of contracts that needed to be signed was enormous, so he resigned, saying, ``If the terms are too long to be written on one page, I'll let this discussion go to waste.'' (*1) Oops. However, this did not mean that the relationship between the two had deteriorated; when ``Twelve Monkeys'' was finally completed, he was very satisfied with the result and apparently sent a telegram expressing his sincere gratitude for the hard work that Gilliam and his colleagues had done.

By the way, the genius Terry Gilliam apparently never saw the movie ``La Jetée'' until the production was finished (though he seems to have briefly looked through the art book, which consisted only of photos and text). Perhaps, in his own way, he was careful not to be too influenced by the original draft. It was because of Gilliam's originality and approach that the tranquil monochrome world of ``La Jetée'' transformed into a fantastical taste colored with ``passionate red.'' Must.

*1, “Terry Gilliam/The filmmaker talks about himself” by Ian Christie, translated by Akiko Hiroki, Film Art Publishing (1999/12) p.307