"A man's obsession with an image of his past"
La Jetée - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
In one scene, the Man and Woman look at a cross-section of a large sequoia tree, with historical dates marked on its rings. The woman pronounces an English name the man doesn't understand.
This is a direct and explicit homage to Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo, which contains a nearly identical scene. In Vertigo, the characters discuss events from the past while looking at the tree's rings. The unspoken English name is almost certainly "Hitchcock." Both films share themes of obsession, memory, and a man's love for a mysterious woman he is destined to lose.
The protagonist wears a t-shirt with the words “Il Santos,” which translates to “The Saint.”
This could be a reference to the popular comic book and wrestling hero 'El Santo'. More symbolically, it positions the protagonist as a sacrificial figure or martyr, a 'saint' who endures suffering and gives his life in an attempt to save humanity and reclaim a moment of pure love.
The final shot of the protagonist falling as he is shot.
Some critics have noted that this final, frozen image of the falling man visually alludes to Robert Capa's famous 1936 photograph, "The Falling Soldier," one of the most iconic images of death in the 20th century. This reference ties the protagonist's personal death to a larger, historical iconography of conflict and sacrifice.