Taking inspiration from his own short film the School of Postman, Jacques in my opinion the Thomson-colour looks equally as cheap as the black and white print, being a festive story its good in colour, in comparison with My Uncle though the nature shooting locations aren’t full with wanderlust colour, maybe Tati’s real-life situation at the time meant his camera was more focused on himself, his satire directed at the American postal service and their probable influence his bosses. Most of the minimal dialogue is reserved for the old cat-lady of the village, our knockabout narrator. At seventy minutes this more than any Tati gives you a true sense of a world moving around him, much like Mr. Hulot’s Holiday the atmosphere provides encounters and seamless moving of action to keep the sight gags coming. Much like Buster Keaton the film has big, cheap stunts, through out all Tati’s films he had an obsession with bicycles and beetle-cars, much like Keaton and trains. If you look at Chaplin’s films at the time, Tati would beat him two-one with the films he made in the three respective years after Verdoux, Limelight and King of New York. Tati is know for his seamless look through the years usually in his Hulot dress, thus he re-shot some scenes years, decades after a films release, here he re-shot and edited in the painter side-character, also he sound mixing his on a stepping stone here to say Playtime, another seamless element. Tati always offers humour from the kids of the streets, playing into many of the games that happen in the cameras capturing of foreground and background action and intrigue. With more dialogue than any Hulot film, there is one love-strand, here between Guy Decomble & Maine Vallee’s characters. Big Day and My Uncle are Tati’s best films for kids, maybe kids will get into Playtime more then me, yet Playtime is supposed to be more for adults, the original three hour version was even more about commercialism and bourgeoisie with the biggest French budget till that time, at least delivering with great sets its like Mon Uncle without Mr Hulot, like Chaplin its always seem more poignant when he’s really giving it all in his performance, as in Limelight & The Great Dictator. Maybe I don’t like Monsieur Hulot but his passiveness in the four films Tati acted as the famous character, with six features to his name in twenty-five years, you’d think the original, overindulgent running time of Playtime showed how if he just got out there with an idea and a camera, he could of made more low budget comedies like Traffic, or maybe he was done with originally after his 52nd year. Tati also suffered from not having one scene with any other iconic comedian, he could have collaborated with Carne/Prevert, Jean Gabin, true French comedies of the time Decroux, Marceau or Barrault, then you’re talking of personalities, visions clashing so, If like me you watch Tati’s film in order of release you’ll could be inspired, drifted, sweetened, then strung, taken to the circus over his order of pictures, so start here, like many he’s debut had the most thrills, spills and fun for all. Darcy S. McCallum |
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Jacques Tati like many comedic auteur offers few great stories, released in 1949 it marks another great physical-comics debut as writer, director, star, Tati’s effort is as classic as The Kid or Steamboat Bill Jr. Jour de Fete meaning the Big Day is the setup of a travelling fair arriving in this small town in France, Tati is Postman François who spends most of the film on his bicycle, taking cues from the US postal service on how to deliver his mail faster, modernise himself, he’s a softly spoken man who’s work is frequently negated for acquitting and problem solving.
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