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FILM REVIEW – JOUR DE FETE – 1949

Jacques Tati’s debut feature film, taking his classic mime school artistry to a new dimension. He set out to make the film in colour, with an experimental process, but realizing it could fail, he also filmed it in black and white. The latter was released, though recently the colorized version was restored and issued on DVD.

Francois the postman is rather a different character than the more famous and genteel Monsieur Hulot who would appear in most of his features to come, but the influences of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are very strong. He is a pompous workaholic, with a conviction that he knows what is best for all. He is a Malvolio like figure unaware that the villagers he serves are often having fun at his expense. He asks one glum chap if he is readying himself for the fun of the fair only to fail to see the coffin by the mournful family man he has just addressed.

The sleepy French village of Sainte-Severe-sur-Indre enjoys an annual fair. The film opens with a truck bringing in the carousel horses Real horses react to them with fear and children run after the truck in joy at the sight of the magical looking animals.

An old lady, bent over double, takes joy in introducing the villagers as they wake – she is actually played by a male actor. S/he is a Greek chorus like figure, providing background detail on everyone as they come and go.

The villagers are struggling to raise a flagpole as Francois arrives on his rounds. One problem is the cross-eyed hammer bearer who keeps missing the nails he tries to hit until Francois positions them to the left or right of where he is aiming so he gets them on target. This modest success gives Francois the desire to stage-manage the flag rising, which proves amusingly disastrous.

The villagers get Francois drunk and lower his inhibitions, His drunken antics see him performing a silly jig, trying to ride his delivery cycle through a dense wood, and trying to mount it while its by a fence and riding the fence instead. But he also sees a film showing as part of the carnival fete, - a documentary on the ultra-efficient speedy US postal delivery service. He promptly decides to put it into practice himself. He gets the villagers to help teach him faster ways to get on or off his bike, and uses the back-plates of passing trucks to frank the letters while on his route. He throws the letters at people, pins them to horses tails, etc. Cycling fast he out-rides the passing Tour De France but his dream ends when he carelessly rides into a river.

The villagers get the children to complete his round as he helps bring in the harvest hinting that his career is changing.

As a child delivers the mail, he sees the carousel horses being driven away as they arrived and skips after the truck to see them on their way. The film ends.

Lots of lovely inventive moments in a very heart-warming movie. A clear sign of the greatness to come from Tati.

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