Review #1770: Jour de fête [The Big Day]
Cast:
Jacques Tati (François), Paul Frankeur (Marcel), Guy Decomble (Roger), Santa Relli (Germaine), Mane Vallee (Jeanette), Delcassan (La commere), Roger Rafal (Le coiffeur), and Jacques Beauvais (Le cafetier) Directed by Jacques Tati (#434 - Mon Oncle)
Review:
Sure, the silent era came and went in the early years of the 20th century, but that did not mean that there weren't still films that tried to rely on lessened noise to make for humor, one with a visual sense and deliberate timing. Jacques Tati certainly managed to make his mark within that sense of humor in his six feature films as star and director, and this was his debut. Born in Le Pecq, France to picture-framing parents, he decided to take up performing as an artist by his mid-twenties in the 1930s, which he would do for a number of years (interrupted only by service in World War II) while dabbling in short films. He started directing with "L'École des facteurs" [The School for Postmen], a short film released in 1947 for which he would utilize several gags for this film, which he would begin shooting later that year. He shot the film in Sainte-Sévère-sur-Indre, France, where he had resided there during the Occupation in World War II. The film was meant to be released in Thomsoncolor (with Tati have shot with two cameras). The process was not exactly reliable enough to be released in theaters, but Tati did tinker with the film in later years that involved adding color (doing so in a 1964 re-release that cut and re-shot scenes resulting in a shorter run-time of six minutes), and a 1995 restoration was spearheaded by Tati's daughter. The film was written by Tati, Henri Marquet (who would work with him for his next two features) and René Wheeler (best known for scripts such as A Cage of Nightingales [1945]).
If one really needed a good convincing argument about Tati and his accomplishments in visual humor, Buster Keaton once stated that Tati had carried on from the point where Keaton and others "had left off some forty years ago." He would continue to evolve within his visual comedy in his future films, with the next four featuring him as his most famous character, Monsieur Hulot, who Tati used for numerous escapades involving society moving forward in technology. One can see this curiosity here, though, since we are talking about a movie about a rural village with a quirky postman that tries to "speed up" his service in the vein of Americans and their post office people. In that sense, what we have is a pretty good movie that shows a slice of rural life within France. One doesn't need much of a story or fully developed characters when it comes to simple gags that delights one's curiosity with good leisure and the construction of getting to said gag for interesting moments. Tati is the one to follow throughout, and he does a worthy job of going through every little motion (or sound) with good timing that never betrays the intentions of making curious visual humor within a curious demeanor (i.e. one that is easy to follow). It makes for a brilliant and timeless comedy that hits most of its marks within an 86 minute run-time that comes and goes where it pleases for good effect with a worthy presence at the helm on camera. In a way, the film is like watching a puppet show, where one is an observer that sees a show come and go in its own machinations, whether that means seeing pursuits of what will occur with a pole or the weird quirks that come with trying to “improve” something. By the time one finishes the film, it is likely one worth looking into again (or recommending to others) just to see what can result from taking a closer look at its gags again. It makes for quite a leisurely time that anyone can watch and look for enjoyment.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
