La jetée (The Pier) (1961)

La Jetee (The Pier) is the 1961 experimental French film that inspired 12 Monkeys. At 28 minutes in length, it is as long as an original series Twilight Zone episode and it looks and feels like one too. An English-speaking narrator tells the story, which is depicted only through still photos, from a prompt start to an abrupt finish. Largely because of its historical and social significance though also its short length, La Jetee is a noteworthy and memorable film to watch. The protagonist narrates a story that centers on the post-WWIII occupation of Paris by Germans, who perform time-travel experiments on prisoners. They confine the narrator to a hammock to sojourn mentally through time for as long as 50 days -- no indication is made as to how his body is sustained in the meantime -- and he meets a woman in the past with whom he establishes a connection. (My favorite part of the film is the sequence as she awakes in the morning light.) La Jetee is a pivotal, essential, and monumental science-fiction film that is about the what-ifs of postapocalyptic society and a simple romantic connection. 3.5 stars.