Jour de fête

+ intro by Diana Cipriano, BFI Programme and Research Coordinator

The Big Day

Jacques Tati’s masterful satire of efficiency culture sees a French rural postman trying to compete with American postal speed, despite doing his route on a bicycle.

  • Director

    Jacques Tati

  • With

    Jacques Tati, Paul Frankeur, Guy Decomble

  • France 1949. 87min. Total running time 103min

  • Digital (restoration)

  • Certificate

    PG

  • English subtitles

It’s festivity day in a small French village and the local postman carries out his rounds on his bike – always willing to lend a hand – albeit at his own bucolic pace. But when he is ridiculed following the screening of a documentary on the speedy efficiency of US postal services, the postman decides to accelerate his routine, with hilariously disastrous consequences. In his charming feature debut, Tati established his comedic language, with his bicycle proving the perfect foil for his antics.

+ L’ecole des facteurs

School for Postmen

France 1947. Director Jacques Tati. 16min. Digital (restoration). With English subtitles. U

The source of Tati’s feature, which sees a French postman adamant to prove he can be as fast as his American counterparts.

See other screenings of Jour de fête.