School for Postmen

It's the rounds of a bicycle mailman, carrying the letters and small packages the people on his route receive, done the Tati way, with a blithe disregard for the wearying modern methods that bring speed but no pleasure. In other words, it's the sort of movie he would make at feature length.

Tati is usually held in such esteem by those who know his work, that in fairness, I should say I don't find his work funny. That is not to imply it's not good or even great, but his work seems to me more on the order of nostalgic musings, pleas to stop and enjoy the oddities, like a bicycle that knows its rider's habit so well that it can run his route without him, and stop at his favorite cafe.

Tati's work had not reached its later levels here. He's more concerned with the gag and punchline and the reactions of others - although more the youngsters than his nominal superior. Even so, this is a bright, offbeat short that should please Tati's fans and amuse those with twenty minutes to spare.

Most people reading this will have seen Jour de Fête already. L'École des Facteurs is better. In all arts I find paring the subject down its essentials makes a greater impact on the viewer or listener. Whereas Jour de Fête is a nostalgic look at a fading France, L'École is all action of character and his foils. Few moments are left for the foils (or victims) to react, not a moment is wasted. It is a series of sketches seamlessly stitched together into a hilarious narrative- not an easy feat.

But I am of the television generation, to whom 22 minutes makes an hour. I want my entertainment to get down to business, which may explain why I prefer the short format.

Eh bien, vous avez besoin de quelque chose de plus? (What more do you need?)

In this short film - a sort of character study for the later full length feature 'Jour de Fete', Tati plays a postman who has to operate more efficiently to meet a new schedule. The way in which he tries to speed up his round while still sticking to all the human interactions that come with being a postmen in the - still rural - setting of a small French village in the mid of the 20th century. Tati's physical slapstick is simply delightful. His humour is never rude or degrading to anyone involved but merely wonders about the intricacies of human interaction. He has an incredible talent for showing us what this is *really* about and is disarming in his directness and honesty. Especially the dance sequence in the café brings my mind to a halt every time I see it ... there are no words to really do it justice.

It is one of the best early work of Tati. You can find all the gags of 'L'école des facteurs' in 'jour de fête' but I think that the timing is better in this one. It is in this piece that you realise how perfectionist Tati was.

Jacques Tati is very funny in this short film. Most of the scenes are used again in «Jour de fête» (1948), a full feature film.

François (played by Tati) is the local postman somewhere in rural France. He wants to be as fast as the American postmen!

Very funny movie that reminded me of some classic Chaplin performances from the 20's.

Out of 100, I gave it 80. That's *** on a four stars rating system.