"La Jetee": Signposts and Restless Memories

May 12, 2011 by Joseph Susanka

Continued from Page 1

There is a still deeper lesson to be drawn from La Jetée—one reflected most clearly in the single transformative memory that gives meaning to The Man's scattered and confused existence: from his earliest youth, he has been spurred on by that memory, its strength matched only by the lengths to which he is willing to go to achieve it. Despite the vagueness of his childhood and its fading memories, his desire to reach out and touch that signpost once again guides him through the terror and devastation of a massive nuclear war and the brutal existence that comes after it.

We, too, have such a signpost—the dim shadow of something (or Someone) that sometimes feels like little more than a distant memory; an image in a darkling glass. And like The Man, we are driven to pursue that memory by a desire almost more powerful than we can bear. For "Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee."

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5/12/2011 4:00:00 AM

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About Joseph Susanka

Joseph Susanka has been doing development work for institutions of Catholic higher education since his graduation from Thomas Aquinas College in 1999. He blogs at Crisis Magazine, where he also contributes feature articles on a variety of topics.

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