Director: Chris Marker

Year: 1966

How the protagonist and other characters are established and developed

• We only learn about the woman through the man
• The protagonist develops and is established by going back and forth in time, and through the non-diegetic sound of his heartbeat to convey emotion, as well as the voice over

How time and place are established and represented

• Time is used as a massive part of the storyline and the structure of the movie. Going back and forward in time is intertwined with the theme of memories, love, childhood, relationships and war

The use of enigma and narrative crisis and resolution

• The antagonists caused the crisis at the end of the movie, and this wasn’t resolved as it was right at the very end (you can’t escape the present?)

An exploration of binary oppositions in the films

Men and Women

• You only see the woman through the man’s perspective

The present and the past/future

• You can’t escape from the present
• Switching between the present, past and future is a huge part of the narrative structure as well as the plot. The beginning introduces a childhood memory, and the ending explains this memory by showing the protagonist going back into the past
• The animals are represented as timeless, just like the man and women in that moment