Chris Marker has long been known in film circles as one of the most delightfully enigmatic figures in French cinema. In the last years of his life, he didn't like to be photographed and would often distribute photos or cartoonish animations of his cat, Guillaume-en-Egypte, in his place. Despite this reclusive facade, Marker's films are strikingly personal portraits of his world as he experienced it. Marker died last year and the Harvard Film Archive (HFA) is honoring his memory by screening more than 30 of his incredible films through Dec. 16.
Marker's most famous film is certainly the sci-fi short La Jet?e" (1962). The protagonist is a man in a future dystopia whose forced time traveling is overwhelmed by a hauntingly fleeting memory from his childhood that he hopes to understand. The film is almost entirely composed of ephemeral images: still photographs accompanied by sound effects and voiceover. Yet, despite being known for "La Jet?e," Marker was mainly a director of documentaries and mutant documentaries known as personal essay films - a form that he pioneered.
Watching a Marker documentary gives a glimpse at what the documentary form - and cinema in general - has the potential to be. How many times have recent documentaries followed the same formula - interviews with expert talking heads interspersed with archival footage to make sure viewers understand exactly what's going on? Marker recognized that documentaries had to do more than just relate facts in order to be compelling pieces of work. An interesting premise isn't enough
