"A man's obsession with an image of his past"
La Jetée - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
Rien ne distingue les souvenirs des autres moments. Ce n'est que plus tard qu'ils se font reconnaître, à leurs cicatrices.
— Narrator
Context:
This line is spoken early in the film, setting the stage for the story of a man whose entire life is defined by a single, traumatic childhood memory that he only comes to fully understand at the moment of his death.
Meaning:
English Translation: "Nothing sorts out memories from ordinary moments. It is only later that they claim remembrance, when they show their scars." This quote encapsulates the film's core idea about memory and trauma. It suggests that the significance of an event is often not understood as it happens, but only in retrospect, through the lasting impact it leaves on our psyche.
Il comprit qu'on ne s'évadait pas du Temps.
— Narrator
Context:
This is part of the final narration, spoken as the Man realizes that the death he witnessed as a child was his own. He is shot by an agent from his own time, closing the circle of his life and memory.
Meaning:
English Translation: "He understood there was no way to escape Time." This quote delivers the film's fatalistic conclusion. It confirms that the protagonist's journey, which seemed like a potential escape, was merely the fulfillment of a predetermined loop.
Ceci est l'histoire d'un homme marqué par une image d'enfance.
— Narrator
Context:
These are the very first words of the film, immediately establishing the central theme of memory and its inescapable hold over the protagonist's life and destiny.
Meaning:
English Translation: "This is the story of a man, marked by an image from his childhood." This opening line frames the entire film not as a simple sci-fi adventure, but as a psychological study focused on the power of a single, formative memory.