Chris Marker: A Grin Without a Cat

by Chris Darke (Contributor), Christine van Assche, Magnus af Petersens

Genres: Film, Art

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw La Jetée in the 1970s, I can't be certain that I understood what I was seeing, but it made a huge impact. Later, I saw Sans Soleil, and there was something about its non-linear yet worldly quality that was so compelling in a way that I couldn't explain. Last year, I saw Level Five, and became obsessed with Marker once more.

Then I found out that the Whitechapel Art Gallery had presented an exhibition of Marker's work, and there was a catalogue. I listened to the London Review Bookshop podcast of Chris Darke and Brian Dillon talking about Chris Marker. There is also the Chris Marker website, Notes from the Era of Imperfect Memory. And, of course, Agnes Varda's loving and whimsical description of Marker in Agnes Varda: From Here to There warmed my heart.

They refer to Marker as a bricoleur, but he was also a time traveler and the master of memory. This Sunday afternoon I finished reading Tom McCarthy's Satin Island and then went back to the Chris Marker catalogue and realized that McCarthy has palpably linked himself to Marker.