User Reviews

Postman Franqouis has been introduced to the fast and effective life of the modern American postman through an educational film, making his own existence as a slow-witted, easily distracted postman of a French village appear quite pale in comparison. He is determined to follow the American example through the few resources granted him; and fast it sure goes, but how much BETTER………really?

By the time JOUR DE FÊTE was released towards the end of the 'forties, Jacques Tati had appeared sporadically in films for nearly two decades, so the medium was by no means alien to him. Even so, it was with this film that he was finally able to develop his own rhythm and style as a film-maker; even though the iconic character Mr. Hulot had still yet to emerge, this film starring the inept postman Franqouis must be said to offer a sharply flourishing Tati. The preference for the absurd to dominate rather than a coherent story is established, and also at this early point Tati makes sure to avoid audible dialogue whenever possible. Furthermore, he treats us with several clever cinematic twists and turns in his manner of choreographing the gags and situations in the film; one example occurs early on, when Franqouis is introduces to us while riding on his bicycle, clearly disturbed by a furious wasp that stalks him. We see him arrive in long-shot below us, as our viewpoint is positioned from the top of a slope. As he waves the wasp away and finally regains peace, our focus shifts to a farmer standing at the spot of the slope from where our viewpoint is located; the wasp, of course, hastily flies to the farmer to seek his attention instead, which the poor man won't deal with, so he, too, waves it away--leading it back to Franqouis, who all the while has remained in sight in the distance. This sequence, obviously funnier when seen than read, serves as a neat demonstration of how Tati was able to conjure a promising gag into a side-splitting highlight of a film, through his astute visual understanding. Granted, it is less obvious here than in his later films, one has to be more alert in order to notice the truly special moments, but this is not necessarily a disadvantage.

Yet another archetypal Tati-ingredient present in his first full-length feature, is the sheer focus on humanity. None of the characters involved are particularly well- developed, which one might miss in one way, but this makes the ultimate "message" of the film more abstract; you don't have to consider it if you don't want to. To viewers who like to engage in analyzing, however, the central theme of JOUR DE FÊTE is the same as in almost all of Tati's films; more precisely, the many alienating effects of a modern society. This was a topic which had become increasingly hot in literature and other fiction since the late nineteenth century, after the growing industrialism had defined the social-economical structures of the entire modern world, and its less pleasing aspects had begun to unfold in the consciousness among common people. The relevance of this topic is likely to endure, as I see no immediate end to the obsessive development of technology present today (good and bad). However, Tati's approach is, here as later, much less grim than that of George Orwell's futuristic novel, or even Chaplin's MODERN TIMES; while watching the mishaps of poor postman Franquois, one can't be expected to think of much else than what occurs in the moment, as he is constantly surrounded by characters of the same traditional clown-world as himself, as well as merry, often harmonious music. I suspect that the values which the film may possess in other terms than mirth- making are likely to be ignored, to a large degree, by viewers who don't give the film some thought afterwards.

JOUR DE FÊTE may not be Tati's best film; for one thing, the character of Franqouis does not, although funny, bear the kind of charisma or individuality which made Mr. Hulot into an icon. One does also get the impression that some of the gags and bits in the film, when compared to Tati's later output, would have benefited from more polish. Even so, it's definitely well worth tracking down, for a number of reasons which I've here tried to summarize the best I can. Finally, I might add that I've only watched the original version in (mostly) black-and-white, not the much later, restored and colorized one.

Jour de fête is a charming film, in which the audience remains entertained throughout with a number of comical incidents. However, the audience is also introduced to the way in which the speed of the developing modern-day world, contrasts with the small rural french village. This theme is explored by Francois, the postman, who is subjected to constant ridicule from his fellow villagers.

At the village fête Francois watches a film on the speed at which American mail is delivered. As he takes his job very seriously he becomes disheartened and feels it is necessary for him to meet this standard. However, after all his ineffective efforts to improve, he learns a very important lesson from the lady with the goat (who appears frequently throughout the film, and introduces the audience to numerous members of the village,) which is that 'good news can wait.' This is certainly a comical film, and in my opinion lovers of Chaplin would definitely find this an engaging watch.

Jacques Tati got an idea to create a comical postman character named Francois. He first got to try him in a short film L'école des facteurs (1947, The School for Postmen), which was first supposed to be directed by Rene Clement, who had directed a few shorts with Tati, but after Rene got sick Jacques Tati decided to direct it himself. The audience loved it and the producer asked Tati to make a full-length version of it? Instantly Jacques Tati started working on it. He used many of the same gags he had used in The School for Postmen, but added a deeper level; made the film more personal, symbolic and allegorical.

When France was occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII, Jacques Tati decided to go live in a small village. He promised to the people that if he'd keep making films after the war he would come back to the village to make a film. Well, after the war was over he kept his promise. This is one of the main reasons what why this film was successful; most of the people who acted in it were actual citizens of the village, they were the same people who helped Tati during the war. Jour de fete was made with an incredibly low-budget, basically the cast and the crew worked without salary, they decided to make the film and if it would make money they'd get it. So the cast & crew was very close and in it with their hearts.

In Jour de fete the peace of the small village is broken by aliens - the market people. The people who come to the village try to change it, bring something new to it, infiltrate to it. This is allegorical to Jacques Tati's earlier situation, when the Germans came to France, occupied it and changed it. It's a film against imperialism, this is one way too look at it. But there are several more interpretations and things to look at Jour de fete.

The other is the Americanization of France (and the rest of the world). Many film historians have researched how The Marshall Plan affected cinema; it had the strongest impact on Italy, but many state that the deepest study and influence can be seen in Tati's Jour de fete. Well of course the people who come to the village can represent this and globalization, but the most obvious reference is when Francois starts to compete with the Americans. This is quite a melancholy sequence in Jour de fete (Jacques Tati was always very good in combining melancholy and hilarity); the villagers decide to water Francois drunk and after that show him a documentary about American postmen whose mail work much better, they can post letters and packages much faster with airplanes and helicopters. After seeing this Francois feels the need to try compete with the Americans - starts delivering the mailings much more faster and the villagers joke at the expense of him.

This is a hilarious sequence where Francois hardly tries to work as fast as the Americans but just ends up losing the control of his bike and destroying mailings. Many have written long studies based on this one sequence. Jour de fete is basically a tribute to the burlesque comedy, to the American masters that Tati admired; Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. In this sequence Jacques Tati makes some clear references to The General (1926) a film by Buster Keaton. In The General Buster Keaton loses the control of his train, in which his girl is in. He starts running after it just as Francois does after his bike. The scene where Francois just almost gets the bike is taken directly from The General, when Keaton runs through the woods and just almost catches the train.

Jour de fete of course isn't just a tribute to these American masters; Jacques Tati was bored at only seeing American films like this, he wanted to make a French one and in the posters of Jour de fete he challenged the people to support French cinema instead of American. The scene where Francois tries desperately to erect the French flag at the center of the village is very symbolic; Jacques Tati tries to erect the flag of French cinema to the American ground (burlesque comedy).

In addition to the deep content of the film it's aesthetically gorgeous. Jacques Tati decided to make the first French color film, but because he wasn't sure of the technique they used two different cameras: one black-and-white and one Technicolor. Unfortunately they couldn't make it work in the laboratory and had to use the black and white version, which Jacques Tati didn't like. After his death his daughter Sophie Tatischeff made a new restored version with the colors his father wanted. This allows us to see it in its original form and I think it really needs to be seen in colors. Because Tati planned it to be a color film it obviously has some meaningful parts that don't work in black and white. It's aesthetically, but also narratively important.

This is a very good film after it was finished it instantly became very popular and the producers suggested Jacques Tati to continue making films with the character, Francois. But he wanted to make another character, which would have a wider meaning. In result of this born Mr. Hulot who Jacques Tati played in 4 films. Jour de fete is his first full-length feature, but still stands out as a masterful film.

Jacques Tati proves more than any other filmmaker that comedy is

just as much an art form as drama. This was his first feature

length film, and while it's not quite up to the level of his three

masterpieces, M. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime

(although the first time I saw each of them, I said the same thing),

it's as delightful as almost any other film ever made. Tati is not yet

M. Hulot, but Francois, a postman who rides through his small

hometown delivering mail on his bike. As the film opens, the town

is preparing its Bastille Day festivities (apparently; I don't think they

ever say "Bastille Day," but it's pretty obvious). The jokes are not

quite on the same level as those other three; they are a bit more

slight, though there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments (the

cross-eyed guy has two hilarious scenes).

Around 2/3 of the film is spent during the celebration; Tati builds a

delightful atmosphere that will be recall memories of these types

of small town fairs if you youself have taken place in them. Like his

other films, the plot is very tenuous. Tati is much more interested

in the people around him.

Near the end of the fair, Francois sees a newsreel that shows how

high tech American postmen are. They are trained to fly

helicopters, the film tells us, and do so to deliver the mail. Some

have their own airplanes. To train, they race motorcycles through

obstacle courses, jumping over fire and such. Francois is

depressed by the lack of adventure and supreme efficiency in his

own work; through the night, people tease him about being tiny

compared to the American postmen.

The next morning, Francois devises different ways to make his

route go faster. A lot of these scenes are repeated from his short

Ecole de facteurs, which is included on the Criterion DVD of Mon

Oncle (this film has been out on VHS before; I've heard that

Criterion also restored Jour de fete but have no plans to release it

yet, which is depressing and, well, confusing).

The end is as beautiful as the marvelous endings of his three

masterpieces. "Fin" in a Tati film is always a sad event. I can't think

of any other filmmaker whose films I desire to watch over and over

again; I've seen M. Hulot's Holiday three times in the month and a

half since I bought it. There were tears in my eyes when "Fin"

appeared. 9/10.

I came to this movie with a bias against slapstick as personified by Chaplin, a tolerance for the Buster Keaton variety and a definite leaning towards Laurel and Hardy. Tati, of course is neither yet has elements of all three (or four if you're a pedant). The word that springs to mind is 'gentle' for whilst there is definite satire at work it's satire with its teeth drawn. Tati wants us to love French provincial life as he loves it and rage against 'modernisation' and clearly you will enjoy his oeuvre more if you are sympathetic to his cause. Much has been made in the reviews I've read here of the color aspect but as I see it this is beside the point. If color was a necessity for any points he wanted to make then he would have abandoned the project until a color system could be perfected rather than shoot a black and white back-up version. What really matters is the story or lack of same and the way in which he chooses to tell it which is, overall, successful.