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.

When I first saw this film I couldn't get it out of my head, and put it in my all time top ten. The magic has faded a little, but this remains a classic for its strange mixture of gentle slapstick, sight gags and verbal jokes, and its beautifully atmospheric portrait of French rural life.