With the American release of the upcoming film The Illusionist, there has been a lot of talk about French film director Jacques Tati. Having written the script for the upcoming animated feature, film lovers will get another chance to witness the stunning creative genius present in all of Tati’s work.
Tati has been compared to many different directors. His brand of visual comedy draws comparisons to Chaplin and Keaton, his meticulous use of sound and his elliptical visual style recall Bresson, and his biting critiques of modern society are Godard-esque. While he may have drawn from these directors, Tati’s cinema is one of undoubted originality and uniqueness.
Tati’s cinema begins with M. Hulot, the quiet, ambling wanderer. Hulot provides Tati’s films with hilarity, pity, and poignancy. More than a character, Hulot is the embodiment of the audience's interaction with the film. Hulot wanders, observes, and accepts his surroundings. He rarely, if ever, gets angry. In Mon Oncle he is blamed for the pranks of children, falsely accused of standing atop a desk during a job interview, and is the constant object of criticism and rage. Rather than acting out against his accusers, he accepts the blame they place on him and humbly deals with the situation. He is quiet and comfortable with where he is. Audiences are able to observe the world of the film through the innocent eyes of Hulot.
All of Tati’s works act in one way or another as poignant social critiques. M. Hulot’s Holiday dismantles the excess of upper-class society, Mon Oncle exposes the ridiculousness of modern technology and the arbitrary nature of class separation, and Playtime depicts the empty, modern society, reveling in hilarious confusion. While they do carry the gravitas of a Godard or an Antonioni, there’s something very different about a Tati film. First of all, his work is brilliantly funny, favoring satire over calculated, abstract modernism. Secondly, Tati merely exposes rather than condemns. Sure, he satirizes and exaggerates, but, like his meandering protagonist, he never judges. Tati shows viewers these exaggerated behaviors from fixed visual perspective. The camera stands still, allowing viewers’ eyes to read the frame and make judgments for themselves. He shows his often-immobile subjects in long shots over multiple visual planes. Tati is presenting information, Hulot and the audience observe it, and it is up to them to synthesize it and draw conclusions of their own. Finally, unlike Godard and Antonioni, Tati’s subjects are ridiculous, rather than existential and empty. The bourgeois classes in all of his films seem un-anguished and unaware of their ludicrous behavior. The audience draws their own conclusions; Tati doesn’t force them upon you.
Jacques Tati is a master of mood. His drawn out visual gags, his light-hearted score, his over-the-top sound design, and his masterful use of silence all contribute to the unmistakable feeling he creates. The mood in his films is embodied by the movements of M. Hulot. Hulot moves slowly about the frame, pausing as he pleases. He is on a constant stroll through his surroundings. That’s exactly how the films operate. Viewers feel as if they’re strolling through the environment shown on the film. Occasionally they will pause and laugh at some ridiculousness or absurdity, but then the film will eventually move ahead, not lingering anywhere too long. This unmistakable strolling sense permeates Tati’s work, reminding viewers not to take anything too seriously. We’re all on a stroll, constantly moving, occasionally stopping, but some humor can be found in just about anything.
While the world waits for the late Tati’s latest contribution to the art form, it’s worth pausing and reminding ourselves why he is considered to be one of the masters of cinema. His body of work is small, but important. His messages are hilarious and poignant. Though he has passed away, Tati’s unique blend of the silent art cinema with modernist themes and excellent sound design will live on much beyond his years. After observing the world depicted in his films, I think we can all take a page from Hulot’s book and go for an ambling stroll. Our heightened sense of observation will certainly enable us to find something ridiculous, absurd, hilarious, and above all, poignant in our everyday lives. Tati has shown us that it’s there, now he asks us to pause and find it for ourselves.
Films watched this week: Season of the Witch, A Day at the Races, Inception, Through a Glass Darkly, M. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle, Hail the Conquering Hero, At the Circus, Winter Light
How was Hail the Conquering Hero? I love me some Preston Sturges!
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