Chris Marker is one of the finest filmmakers in cinema. His style is influenced by his varying skillset which he developed through his work as a documentary film director, writer, photographer, multimedia artist and film essayist. The use of still images in this film is unique yes, but it holds a deeper meaning within the context of the story. Davos is a character whose entire life is fixated on a single moment from his childhood at The Jetty. What Davos witnessed has mesmerized him for decades as he can't understand why it means so much to him. This within Davos is revealed through the use of still images in the featurette. A still image simply captures a moment in time, nothing before it nor after it. It remains forever that way, and Davos has as well.
Marker reveals this same theme as well in the imagery of the sculptures we see. They represent how a work of art, though it was created in a time long passed, remains well beyond the life of the artist. It exists out of time, which is exactly what becomes of Davos. He no longer belongs to the present but the past as well as the future as he is able to travel through time. The film's ending creates a closing to a mystery of The Jetty for Davos, and Marker's film essay with it. Marker is revealing how our desire to get back to the past, to that one moment we hold onto and remain fixated on can become the moment that takes away our lives. Our fixation on the past locks us into an inability to move forward. Thus we are only a box full of photographs rather than a moving picture that unfolds moment to moment as we build towards the ultimate climax. This film became an inspiration for filmmakers across the world because of Marker's ingenuity and ability to take risks to fulfill his unique vision.
