In “Festival day”, several characteristics of Tati’s work appear for the first time in a full-length film. The film is largely a visual comedy, though dialogue is still used to tell part of the story, at one point using a background character as a narrator. Sound effects are a key element of the film, as Tati makes imaginative use of voices and other background noises to provide humorous effect. The film introduces what would be a key theme in Tati films, the over-reliance of Western society on technology to solve its problems.
All is calm in this little village in the center of France until the fairground entertainers arrive with their trailers. Then the fair gets under way: carousel, lottery, brass band and a traveling cinema where François, the local postman, discovers a film about the American postal service. Encouraged by the whole village, he sets out to deliver the mail “American Style”.
Language: French with Vietnamese subtitles
“Jour de Fête” will be screened on 26 Feb 2017, 6 pm at L’Espace.