Jour De Fete Review

• 25th Oct 2012

Jour de fete became one of France’s most celebrated films in post war France but was hardly recognized on its release. It wasn’t until it received rave reviews once it was released in Britain that the film earnt a re-release in France, won awards at the Venice Film Festival and then had praise garnered on it in the French media. It also launched the cinema career of a man who became known as France’s best known comic icon – Jacques Tati. One of the reasons for the films success was perhaps its twee charm in a film from war ravaged Europe – and the fact there is very little dialogue. Curiously though it has more dialogue than in Tati’s later films. The story, as it is, is a simple one. The film opens in a small rural French village called Sainte-Sévère in the central regions of France. In preparation for Bastille Day a fair arrives in the town causing much excitement amongst the locals. A central figure is introduced to the viewer in the shape of a gangly inept postman who rides around the village on his bike delivering letters and helping people out. He becomes inspired to speed his job up by adopting an American method of speed and efficiency with some hilarious results.

Tati’s brand of humour is very much a hand down from the silent days of comedy – there is something of the Buster Keaton about Tati (without the death defying stunts, but some wonderfully choreographed clownish moments) with an element of more sophisticated Keystone thrown in. There are some wonderful quirky touches to Tati’s character of the postman such as the way he slings his bag round his shoulders and the way he is able to mount his bike all of which become funnier and funnier as the film develops. But this was not the first time Tati used this postman character. This character was originally used in a short (shot in the same village) also included on this dual format DVD and Blu-ray from BFI called L’Ecole des facteurs which Tati had filmed the pervious year and really just expanded on the theme. Yet the underlying message of the film is about progress something that is made comic in all his films and becomes at its satirical best in such films as Mon Oncle and Playtime (1967) in which he attacks modernism. Here he seems to be mourning a dying way of life and existence as the temptation towards progress raises its ugly head.

What is interesting about this, the latest release from BFI (they are also releasing Mon Oncle, 1958 along with Jour de fete this month) is the versions presented. There are two on these discs: one is the way Tati originally intended to be released and shot in colour using the little seen Thomsoncolor process. This version until now has rarely been seen by audiences (most only know of this film in black and white) but was the film Tati had originally intended. Although the colours look a little washed out it is interesting to see this version. The other one here is the 1964 version of the film which was shown in black and white but with some very inventive colour inserts and English language narration by an artist observing life in the little village.

In addition to these two versions of the film included on the disc there are also a handful of short films, some are worth seeing more than others but are interesting in that they give a broad a span of Tati’s career. BFI do justice to the films with an essay booklet included and a very fine addition to the cycle of films which are now almost complete by BFI.

Chris Hick