L'École des facteurs (1947)
Directed by Jacques Tati

Comedy
aka: The School for Postmen

Film Review

Abstract picture representing L'Ecole des facteurs (1947)
Although massively overshadowed by Jacques Tati's subsequent works, L'École des facteurs merits consideration as a small comic masterpiece in its own right.   Replete with visual jokes (many of which are as fresh as funny as they were when the film was made), it ought to be ranked along side the silent slapstick classics of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton which clearly influenced Tati in making the film.

Amongst the many unforgettable comic situations, one favourite is the scene where Tati (as François the postman) gets separated from his bicycle and the latter carries on regardless, with the postman running along behind.  Tati's confrontation with a time-wasting level-crossing is equally memorable.

L'École des facteurs was such a success that Tati re-made it the following year as Jour de fête , adding additional material to make this his first full-length film.
© James Travers 2002
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jacques Tati film:
Jour de fête (1949)

Film Synopsis

The French postal service is keen to keep up with its American equivalent and so introduces a programme of modernisation that will make it more efficient than ever before.  The head postman of a provincial community is busy putting his juniors through their paces, subjecting them to exercises that will significantly reduce the time they spend delivering mail and allow them to catch the airmail plane.  François seems to be the star pupil, at least in the classroom.  But in the real world this most diligent of postmen finds it difficult to put into practice what he has learned.  It seems that the whole world is determined to thwart him in his efforts to be a thoroughly modern mailman...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Jacques Tati
  • Script: Jacques Tati
  • Cinematographer: Louis Félix
  • Music: Jean Yatove
  • Cast: Jacques Tati (Postman), Paul Demange (Chief Postman)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 18 min
  • Aka: The School for Postmen

The very best fantasy films in French cinema
sb-img-30
Whilst the horror genre is under-represented in French cinema, there are still a fair number of weird and wonderful forays into the realms of fantasy.
The brighter side of Franz Kafka
sb-img-1
In his letters to his friends and family, Franz Kafka gives us a rich self-portrait that is surprisingly upbeat, nor the angst-ridden soul we might expect.
The very best sci-fi movies
sb-img-19
Science-fiction came into its own in B-movies of the 1950s, but it remains a respected and popular genre, bursting into the mainstream in the late 1970s.
The best French war films ever made
sb-img-6
For a nation that was badly scarred by both World Wars, is it so surprising that some of the most profound and poignant war films were made in France?
The best French Films of the 1920s
sb-img-3
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © filmsdefrance.com 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright