FRENCH HUMOUR: A poster of 1949 classic Jour de fête now restored as part of the worldwide celebration of Francophone week. (Right) Jacques Tati.
Doha gets to revisit French filmmaker Jacques Tati’s endearing humour with the Gulf premiere of his works’ restored prints
By Anand Holla
On the opening night of the Doha Film Institute’s four-day retrospective on legendary French comic director-actor-screenwriter Jacques Tati’s films, the Katara Drama Theatre was mildly bustling with laughs.
Not loud belly laughs, but a constant stream of chuckles and giggles that can likely be elicited by humour as endearing and timeless as Tati’s.
A look-back on one of 20th Century cinema’s most innovative filmmakers couldn’t have started off with a more befitting film than his first feature —Jour de fête (The Big Day).
The occasion was befitting as well. Beginning Monday, Doha was playing host for the Gulf premiere of Tati’s recently restored prints as part of the worldwide celebration of Francophone week.
On the back of the Second World War, Tati’s incredible comic timing didn’t just make France smile, but also relate to his slice-of-life concerns. In this 1949 classic, Tati digs into his fixation, which he continued to explore in his subsequent films — of seeing humour in our struggle to exist in an increasingly mechanised society.
During the German occupation of France, Tati had taken refuge in the small, sleepy township of Sainte-Sévère-Sur-Indre. It’s where the film was set as well.
When a travelling carnival arrives in town, Francois, the awkward but sincere postman — played adorably by Tati — feels the need to up his game. That’s because he watches a film at the carnival that lauds the efficiency of America’s modern postal delivery system. Francois, who zips around on his bicycle, goes to hilarious lengths to deliver mail “American style”.
The plot is wafer thin but that only adds to the charm. Loaded with quality slapstick comedy choreographed to precision, the 79-minute film is also a pleasant glimpse into village life.
The atmosphere at Katara Drama Theatre evoked nostalgia and even celebrated it. That’s because the essence of Tati’s works is so timeless that the audience at Katara seemed to relate to his social critique and humour just as well as one would have back in the day.
The film’s idea was initially conceived as a one-reeler L’Ecole des Facteurs (School for Postmen). Fortunately for cinephiles, Tati decided to slip into the protagonist’s shoes, used villagers as extras and shot his debut on location. Like his subsequent films, there’s a minimal use of audible dialogue.
Jour de fête gave us a first look into Tati’s knack for pantomime and mimicking, which he started focusing on since 1931. Back then, he would do the rounds of Parisian halls, circuses and theatres with his impersonations, acrobatics, and the famous drunk waiter act (which in this film is used in the drunk postman scenes).
It was a crackling debut that cracked people up, but Tati was yet to give his best and introduce Mr Hulot — a character inspired by the likes of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and W C Fields.
Of all things, Tati is immortalised for his bumbling, personality-defining character Monsieur Hulot, who wore a poplin coat and a hat, carried a neatly rolled umbrella and smoked a pipe.
French ambassador to Qatar Jean-Christophe Peaucelle, who was present during the opening night, said: “Even now I watch Tati’s films because he speaks the language of the audience, and appeals to children.”
“Jacques Tati is a cultural icon of France. His comedic critique of life in the modern world is as amusing and relevant today as it was when the films were made. Tati’s showed us the world standing on the crossroads of tradition and modernity. Though he is critical of the modern contemporary society, he does so in a gentle way,” Peaucelle added.
The other three films in DFI’s retrospective are — M. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle (which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958, and the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival) and Playtime.
If you can find time this evening, don’t miss Playtime, regarded by many as Tati’s most ambitious work.
BELOW:
AMONG THE AUDIENCE: From left: André Dubois, Ambassador of Canada to Qatar; Abdulaziz al-Khater, CEO of Doha Film Institute; Jean-Christophe Peaucelle, Ambassador of France to Qatar and Hamodi Check, Head of Diplomatic Mission, Embassy of the Central African Republic attend the screening at Katara Drama Theatre.