1 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,440 It's just half past the hour. 2 00:00:07,491 --> 00:00:09,440 - Shall I turn it on? - By all means. 3 00:00:15,036 --> 00:00:17,944 Tonight as each night at the same time 4 00:00:17,994 --> 00:00:21,219 we bring you Prof. Platoff! 5 00:00:21,577 --> 00:00:24,960 Today's subject: "Work it out yourself" 6 00:00:28,112 --> 00:00:31,086 Jacques Tati Fallen From The Moon 7 00:00:36,792 --> 00:00:38,357 The year is 1958. 8 00:00:39,847 --> 00:00:43,401 Jacques Tati is in New York, dressed as Mr. Hulot, 9 00:00:43,451 --> 00:00:46,700 the character he invented a few years earlier. 10 00:00:49,210 --> 00:00:51,837 With his nose in the air and trousers too short, 11 00:00:52,142 --> 00:00:54,719 he hauls his figure through the city's streets. 12 00:01:01,075 --> 00:01:02,947 Tati isn't there for a vacation. 13 00:01:05,077 --> 00:01:07,218 He's accompanying the release of his new film, 14 00:01:07,558 --> 00:01:10,730 Mon Oncle, which is about to be a hit in the United States, 15 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:13,291 Like everywhere it's shown. 16 00:01:15,631 --> 00:01:18,593 It will soon be in the running for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. 17 00:01:22,584 --> 00:01:24,756 Already, Tati is thinking about his next project. 18 00:01:26,466 --> 00:01:30,499 He is about to embark on the biggest and most ambitious film of his life. 19 00:01:33,109 --> 00:01:35,430 The one into which he'll pour his genius, 20 00:01:35,810 --> 00:01:38,589 his energy, his health, his house. 21 00:01:40,292 --> 00:01:42,787 The one that will burn his wings and ruin him. 22 00:01:45,494 --> 00:01:47,466 But let's not get ahead of ourselves. 23 00:01:49,075 --> 00:01:52,417 Before stumbling, one must first climb the mountain. 24 00:01:56,932 --> 00:02:00,213 Before the fall, we must tell the ascent, 25 00:02:00,820 --> 00:02:01,994 step by step. 26 00:02:13,996 --> 00:02:16,757 The story begins in the mid-1930s, 27 00:02:17,057 --> 00:02:18,458 in a music hall club. 28 00:02:20,619 --> 00:02:24,120 Jacques Tati performs his show Sporting Impressions, 29 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,821 in which he mimes the gestures of a tennis player, 30 00:02:27,381 --> 00:02:29,262 a goalkeeper, or a boxer. 31 00:02:37,746 --> 00:02:41,879 A good comedian, Tati would say, is above all a good pair of legs. 32 00:02:58,144 --> 00:03:00,365 From his very first short films as an actor, 33 00:03:00,685 --> 00:03:04,247 and later as writer and director, he applied this principle. 34 00:03:05,727 --> 00:03:09,589 He makes his body and movements the raw material of his cinema. 35 00:03:29,557 --> 00:03:31,718 Jacques Tati was 40 when he set out, 36 00:03:31,798 --> 00:03:35,100 just after the war, to make his first feature film, 37 00:03:36,010 --> 00:03:37,122 Jour de fête. 38 00:03:37,441 --> 00:03:39,638 He reprised the character of François, 39 00:03:39,688 --> 00:03:42,032 which he had already played in The School for Postmen, 40 00:03:42,143 --> 00:03:44,164 and his unique way of using his body. 41 00:03:48,685 --> 00:03:52,158 From one scene to the next, he makes his character twirl, 42 00:03:53,266 --> 00:03:56,393 To spin, waltz as if by accident. 43 00:03:57,669 --> 00:04:00,951 A bit like in the films of the silent-era legends of American cinema, 44 00:04:01,451 --> 00:04:05,432 Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd, whom Tati greatly admired. 45 00:04:54,893 --> 00:04:58,628 Tati made his first comedy with string and glue. 46 00:04:59,381 --> 00:05:02,202 He had a very small team of technicians, 47 00:05:02,277 --> 00:05:04,168 some of whom also acted in the film. 48 00:05:06,158 --> 00:05:09,175 He recruited extras in the village of Sainte-Sévère, 49 00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:11,619 where he had spent a few months during the war. 50 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,162 He had promised the locals he would come back to make a film. 51 00:05:23,535 --> 00:05:28,807 And so, we plunged into this adventure with full commitment. 52 00:05:28,857 --> 00:05:32,689 It was like waking up one morning and deciding to make a film. 53 00:05:32,739 --> 00:05:37,900 People said "You're crazy, you want to shoot a short film?" 54 00:05:37,951 --> 00:05:39,422 "No, it's a feature film!" 55 00:05:41,893 --> 00:05:43,914 Tati didn't hesitate to take risks. 56 00:05:44,554 --> 00:05:46,595 He shot his film using a new process, 57 00:05:46,955 --> 00:05:50,076 Thompson Colour, which was supposed to make Jour de fête 58 00:05:50,346 --> 00:05:52,989 one of the first French feature films in colour. 59 00:05:54,618 --> 00:05:58,311 Insoluble technical problems eventually forced him to give it up. 60 00:06:02,651 --> 00:06:05,403 Tati resigned himself to releasing the film in black and white, 61 00:06:05,513 --> 00:06:08,334 but no distributor wanted to screen it in cinemas. 62 00:06:11,535 --> 00:06:15,097 For a year, the film-maker searched in vain for a distributor. 63 00:06:29,343 --> 00:06:32,464 Fortunately, Tati had the perseverance of a long-distance runner. 64 00:06:33,564 --> 00:06:36,365 Jour de fête eventually made its way into cinemas. 65 00:06:39,007 --> 00:06:44,109 Released in 1949, the film was a great success with audiences. 66 00:06:45,409 --> 00:06:46,881 Tati's career was launched. 67 00:06:50,972 --> 00:06:53,693 But the film-maker did not forget the people of Saint-Séver. 68 00:06:54,473 --> 00:06:59,075 In June, he returned to the village to share his success with them. 69 00:07:32,959 --> 00:07:36,281 You, who live all year in nervousness, 70 00:07:36,625 --> 00:07:38,696 agitation, turmoil. 71 00:07:39,218 --> 00:07:40,829 You're thinking about it. 72 00:07:42,845 --> 00:07:46,802 You, who spend most of your life in offices, 73 00:07:47,385 --> 00:07:51,107 factories, workshops — You're thinking about it. 74 00:07:52,797 --> 00:07:57,209 You, who are already beginning to have obligations and worries. 75 00:07:57,589 --> 00:08:00,030 You, who are burdened with responsibilities. 76 00:08:00,211 --> 00:08:01,211 You, miss. 77 00:08:01,591 --> 00:08:02,592 You, sir. 78 00:08:03,332 --> 00:08:05,256 Well, rejoice, 79 00:08:05,803 --> 00:08:08,970 because soon, you're all going on vacation. 80 00:08:09,454 --> 00:08:10,895 Here comes summer. 81 00:08:11,815 --> 00:08:12,896 Here comes the beach. 82 00:08:13,356 --> 00:08:17,069 Here is a film where you'll find all the atmosphere of vacation. 83 00:08:18,463 --> 00:08:20,480 It's the great comic revelation of Jour de fête, 84 00:08:20,531 --> 00:08:21,531 Jacques Tati. 85 00:08:28,462 --> 00:08:30,174 Tati has an independent spirit. 86 00:08:31,540 --> 00:08:33,861 He likes to experiment with each new project. 87 00:08:34,835 --> 00:08:39,417 For his second comedy, set in a small seaside resort on the Atlantic coast, 88 00:08:40,187 --> 00:08:43,900 he invents a new character, once again played by himself. 89 00:08:51,642 --> 00:08:54,903 This character, who will go down in cinema history, 90 00:08:55,183 --> 00:08:56,364 is Monsieur Hulot. 91 00:08:57,110 --> 00:08:59,561 A dreamy, almost mute man 92 00:08:59,725 --> 00:09:04,107 whom Tati makes instantly recognisable by his look and his accessories. 93 00:09:07,329 --> 00:09:11,139 Monsieur... Monsieur? 94 00:09:12,571 --> 00:09:13,571 What? 95 00:09:14,073 --> 00:09:15,161 Allow me. 96 00:09:15,212 --> 00:09:16,212 Hulot. 97 00:09:28,747 --> 00:09:31,989 Tati, the mime, gives Hulot a tall, lanky silhouette, 98 00:09:32,389 --> 00:09:35,840 a way of standing up very straight on his legs, 99 00:09:35,890 --> 00:09:38,983 while remaining supple in his joints. 100 00:09:45,575 --> 00:09:50,437 But most of all, Tati gives Hulot a way of walking that is uniquely his own. 101 00:09:56,179 --> 00:09:58,200 Monsieur Hulot is a lunar character, 102 00:09:58,540 --> 00:09:59,540 Tati would say. 103 00:10:00,641 --> 00:10:04,502 In fact, his walk proves it, since he barely puts his heels on the ground. 104 00:10:07,424 --> 00:10:11,365 He walks only on the balls of his feet, as if trying to get closer to the Moon. 105 00:10:21,329 --> 00:10:25,211 As a child, Jacques Tati-Chef could spend hours lost in his own world. 106 00:10:28,713 --> 00:10:32,234 He loved doing impressions and was not a very good student in school. 107 00:10:40,007 --> 00:10:42,819 I had the good fortune of being sent to the corner quite often. 108 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,554 And from the corner, since you're a language professional, 109 00:10:46,630 --> 00:10:50,212 you notice that the teacher you saw from the front and who seemed perfect, 110 00:10:51,092 --> 00:10:54,673 from the corner you see that he's lowered his socks a bit, 111 00:10:54,793 --> 00:10:57,849 he's scratching his calves — that is, you get to see behind the scenes. 112 00:10:58,100 --> 00:11:00,436 That's how observation begins. 113 00:11:00,487 --> 00:11:02,411 It's how I started to realise there was more 114 00:11:02,468 --> 00:11:05,038 than just impeccable and proper people. 115 00:11:06,919 --> 00:11:10,830 From a good Franco-Russo-Dutch-Italian bourgeois family, 116 00:11:11,008 --> 00:11:13,033 he left high school before his baccalaureate 117 00:11:13,084 --> 00:11:15,122 and failed the entrance exam for arts and trades. 118 00:11:15,919 --> 00:11:17,355 He preferred to party. 119 00:11:19,284 --> 00:11:22,225 He married late in life, to Micheline Winter, 120 00:11:22,725 --> 00:11:23,786 whom he falsely loved. 121 00:11:25,206 --> 00:11:28,298 But his mother-in-law, who organised the wedding with an iron fist, 122 00:11:28,454 --> 00:11:30,809 refused to invite his Music Hall friends. 123 00:11:32,809 --> 00:11:35,490 Tati never adapted to bourgeois codes. 124 00:12:16,521 --> 00:12:20,049 Tati would often claim that Monsieur Hulot is a bit of an everyman. 125 00:12:20,849 --> 00:12:22,502 But he is still very much himself: 126 00:12:22,553 --> 00:12:26,992 the nonconformist, who causes chaos and never does anything quite like others. 127 00:12:33,785 --> 00:12:38,227 Tati plays with sound and dialogue like no one before him. 128 00:13:04,408 --> 00:13:08,729 In his directing, the film-maker adopts a method he will never abandon. 129 00:13:10,010 --> 00:13:11,581 Before filming a scene, 130 00:13:11,631 --> 00:13:15,392 he mimes every gesture for the actors to perform in front of the camera. 131 00:13:20,834 --> 00:13:22,793 Tati is an obsessive film-maker 132 00:13:22,861 --> 00:13:25,488 who meticulously prepares every scene 133 00:13:25,686 --> 00:13:29,819 and sometimes shoots more than 20 takes to get exactly what he wants. 134 00:13:41,323 --> 00:13:45,045 He also has to deal with the wind and the whims of the weather. 135 00:13:46,825 --> 00:13:49,075 Grains of sand get into the camera 136 00:13:49,125 --> 00:13:51,947 and cause irreversible scratches on the film. 137 00:13:54,187 --> 00:13:56,263 Tati has to reshoot some sequences 138 00:13:56,314 --> 00:13:59,201 even though the summer of 1951 is already over. 139 00:14:02,212 --> 00:14:05,193 Making a comedy is not exactly a vacation. 140 00:14:05,993 --> 00:14:09,275 And creating the impression of lightness is the hardest thing of all. 141 00:14:46,010 --> 00:14:49,171 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot. 142 00:14:55,900 --> 00:14:58,049 In the middle of winter 1953, 143 00:14:58,113 --> 00:15:00,861 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot is released 144 00:15:00,911 --> 00:15:02,768 and is a triumph with the public. 145 00:15:04,058 --> 00:15:07,139 The film is promptly selected for the Cannes Film Festival, 146 00:15:07,299 --> 00:15:09,600 where it wins the International Critics Prize. 147 00:15:12,261 --> 00:15:15,102 But Tati, likely not yet famous enough, 148 00:15:15,622 --> 00:15:18,074 is not filmed by the news cameras. 149 00:15:21,285 --> 00:15:22,813 A few months later, 150 00:15:22,863 --> 00:15:27,378 the cameras are definitely there when he is awarded the Louis Delluc Prize, 151 00:15:28,779 --> 00:15:31,869 A kind of cinema competition rewarding the best French film of the year. 152 00:15:34,610 --> 00:15:39,683 The film-maker plays the society game and quietly continues his rise. 153 00:16:02,542 --> 00:16:05,283 Abroad, Jacques Tati begins to make a name for himself, 154 00:16:05,923 --> 00:16:11,605 notably in England, where Mister Hulot is showing at London's chicest cinema, 155 00:16:11,656 --> 00:16:14,727 and where the film sparks a true British passion. 156 00:16:27,502 --> 00:16:31,404 The film-maker comes to witness his success in person and, 157 00:16:31,624 --> 00:16:33,535 keen to adapt to local customs, 158 00:16:33,585 --> 00:16:37,598 he equips himself with an umbrella that he will soon entrust to Monsieur Hulot. 159 00:16:42,028 --> 00:16:47,591 In June 1954, Tati lands in New York to attend his film's premiere 160 00:16:47,851 --> 00:16:49,352 on the other side of the Atlantic. 161 00:16:51,192 --> 00:16:53,146 Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot soon becomes 162 00:16:53,196 --> 00:16:55,840 the most successful French film ever in the United States, 163 00:16:56,294 --> 00:16:58,956 surpassing The Baker's Wife by Marcel Pagnol, 164 00:16:59,336 --> 00:17:01,243 which had held the title for 15 years. 165 00:17:12,051 --> 00:17:14,445 Tati takes advantage of his stay in New York 166 00:17:14,495 --> 00:17:16,432 to re-enact his sports impressions 167 00:17:16,482 --> 00:17:19,334 in front of photographer Philippe Halsman's lens. 168 00:17:25,069 --> 00:17:28,992 But above all, he spends his days observing American gigantism 169 00:17:29,042 --> 00:17:32,373 and the conquering modernity in the land of progress. 170 00:17:54,209 --> 00:17:57,490 He observes the human species in its American variant. 171 00:18:03,993 --> 00:18:08,836 By watching passers-by, he draws ideas for a character or picks up a gesture. 172 00:18:12,116 --> 00:18:15,028 Tati is a film-maker in constant reconnaissance. 173 00:18:17,158 --> 00:18:19,190 I flirt a little, I take my time. 174 00:18:19,419 --> 00:18:21,080 Yes, I find it pleasant. 175 00:18:23,221 --> 00:18:26,002 And I walk and observe on the street, 176 00:18:26,082 --> 00:18:30,604 then I see if my subject holds up, if really, 177 00:18:30,864 --> 00:18:33,385 yes, it's good like that, that's it. 178 00:18:33,965 --> 00:18:38,327 Then little by little, while observing, I build and tell my story. 179 00:19:06,179 --> 00:19:09,660 Back in France, Tati could rest on his laurels. 180 00:19:10,981 --> 00:19:14,108 Why not allow himself a detour into the world of advertising, 181 00:19:14,422 --> 00:19:16,363 as his impresario suggests? 182 00:19:18,064 --> 00:19:19,750 Tati's response is cutting. 183 00:19:20,511 --> 00:19:24,302 I'd like to point out that I particularly love my work 184 00:19:24,437 --> 00:19:27,830 and under no circumstances do I do it to promote some brand of auto-mobile, 185 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:29,976 let alone the quality of spaghetti. 186 00:19:35,731 --> 00:19:38,564 Tati thinks only of his art and his next film. 187 00:19:40,408 --> 00:19:42,987 This time, there's no question of changing character. 188 00:19:46,295 --> 00:19:50,117 But Tati wants to continue renewing himself and experimenting. 189 00:19:52,598 --> 00:19:55,290 His new comedy, entitled Mon Oncle, 190 00:19:56,351 --> 00:19:58,641 Will be shot in colour, and for the first time, 191 00:19:59,852 --> 00:20:01,922 He decides to film partly in a studio. 192 00:20:09,885 --> 00:20:12,406 He asks one of his artistic collaborators, 193 00:20:12,807 --> 00:20:14,824 the painter-architect Jacques Lagrange, 194 00:20:14,874 --> 00:20:17,649 to design the plans for an ultra-modern villa, 195 00:20:18,129 --> 00:20:21,561 like a robot-house, with windows shaped like eyeballs. 196 00:20:23,911 --> 00:20:28,233 More than just a set, it will be a true character at the centre of the film, 197 00:20:29,256 --> 00:20:31,915 revealing bourgeois snobbery and convention. 198 00:21:19,995 --> 00:21:24,136 "Everything is connected," says Tati's heroine, Madame Arpel. 199 00:21:24,997 --> 00:21:28,649 But in this sterile villa, no one is connected to anyone. 200 00:21:43,995 --> 00:21:47,707 In his third film, Tati innovates again with the soundtrack. 201 00:21:48,797 --> 00:21:50,828 He uses it to make a visionary critique, 202 00:21:51,137 --> 00:21:54,653 Not of technology itself, but of how it is used. 203 00:22:22,021 --> 00:22:26,823 As usual, Tati takes the time to mime every gesture to each of his actors. 204 00:22:30,523 --> 00:22:33,344 He even does it for Dacky, the Arpels' dog, 205 00:22:33,805 --> 00:22:37,193 who stands out as the disruptor in a world that runs too smoothly. 206 00:22:47,766 --> 00:22:49,520 Oh Dacky! 207 00:22:50,502 --> 00:22:51,953 Come here! 208 00:22:52,009 --> 00:22:54,225 - I'm sure it's its fault. - Dacky! 209 00:22:54,508 --> 00:22:56,778 We've got to get it to walk in front of the sensor again. 210 00:22:56,829 --> 00:22:58,496 Dacky, will you come here? 211 00:22:58,546 --> 00:23:00,590 - Come on! - Ah, he's coming. 212 00:23:00,757 --> 00:23:02,250 Come on, Dacky, come. 213 00:23:02,613 --> 00:23:04,528 - Dacky! - It's not working any more. 214 00:23:04,661 --> 00:23:06,246 What are we going to do? 215 00:23:08,643 --> 00:23:10,030 Oh, listen... 216 00:23:14,453 --> 00:23:16,295 Go, Dacky. Go on, go. 217 00:23:16,702 --> 00:23:18,351 Of course he'll go if you scold him. 218 00:23:18,409 --> 00:23:21,386 We need to get out of here, right? We'll have to call Georgette. 219 00:23:27,768 --> 00:23:30,321 In Mon Oncle, the surprising Mr. Hulot 220 00:23:30,371 --> 00:23:33,330 has traded his vacation attire for city clothes. 221 00:23:33,931 --> 00:23:37,772 And his rickety car from the previous film must have given up the ghost. 222 00:23:47,476 --> 00:23:49,957 He is the uncle who gives the film its title, 223 00:23:50,557 --> 00:23:52,738 but above all, its free and offbeat spirit. 224 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:57,614 For Mr. Hulot struggles greatly 225 00:23:57,664 --> 00:24:00,081 to conform to the harsh laws of social life. 226 00:24:00,482 --> 00:24:02,952 And he cares little for the illusions of success 227 00:24:03,003 --> 00:24:04,928 pursued by his sister and brother-in-law. 228 00:24:06,404 --> 00:24:08,225 Oh, you're not coming in? 229 00:24:19,330 --> 00:24:22,281 If you hadn't gone into cinema, what would you have liked to do? 230 00:24:22,331 --> 00:24:26,092 I worked in a shop—my grandfather was a framer. 231 00:24:27,473 --> 00:24:29,183 - A framer? - Yes, a framer. 232 00:24:29,234 --> 00:24:31,715 The framer of Toulouse-Lautrec, a friend of Van Gogh. 233 00:24:31,795 --> 00:24:33,716 My father took over the shop. 234 00:24:34,196 --> 00:24:36,677 Normally, I should be working in that shop, 235 00:24:36,737 --> 00:24:38,097 framing paintings by Buffet. 236 00:24:38,357 --> 00:24:39,608 Would you like that? 237 00:24:39,658 --> 00:24:40,919 I'd rather be framed. 238 00:24:41,562 --> 00:24:43,376 I'm in too much of a rush to be a framer. 239 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:44,440 Yes, of course. 240 00:25:04,839 --> 00:25:06,739 Jacques Tati is a workaholic. 241 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:09,725 After six exhausting months of filming, 242 00:25:09,775 --> 00:25:12,482 he devotes fifteen months to finishing his film, 243 00:25:13,202 --> 00:25:14,494 working ten hours a day. 244 00:25:21,375 --> 00:25:24,015 Finally, in the spring of 1958, 245 00:25:24,065 --> 00:25:26,679 the perfectionist is ready to face the public eye. 246 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:34,781 Five years after Mr. Hulot's Holiday, 247 00:25:34,901 --> 00:25:39,823 Jacques Tati's new film is selected to compete at the Cannes Film Festival. 248 00:25:44,245 --> 00:25:48,167 The film-maker insisted on coming with his entire technical team and cast. 249 00:25:57,551 --> 00:25:59,445 On the evening of the awards ceremony, 250 00:25:59,495 --> 00:26:02,313 Mon Oncle receives the prestigious Special Jury Prize, 251 00:26:02,713 --> 00:26:05,694 for the originality and comedic strength of the work. 252 00:26:08,235 --> 00:26:11,096 Mon Oncle is a huge success in France, 253 00:26:11,376 --> 00:26:15,578 and across Europe, where Tati embarks on a tour to accompany the film. 254 00:26:17,819 --> 00:26:23,001 In Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden, he is welcomed like a star. 255 00:26:27,293 --> 00:26:31,715 In Rome, Tati takes the opportunity to visit Federico Fellini. 256 00:26:32,875 --> 00:26:36,428 The Italian director offered him the role of Don Quixote 257 00:26:36,478 --> 00:26:39,249 in an adaptation he hoped to make someday. 258 00:26:40,478 --> 00:26:42,770 But sadly, the film would never be made. 259 00:26:47,892 --> 00:26:53,034 In September 1958, Tati leaves for a two-month tour of America, 260 00:26:53,614 --> 00:26:56,175 travelling from city to city to present Mon Oncle, 261 00:26:56,555 --> 00:26:59,507 in a version specially made for the American audience. 262 00:27:03,258 --> 00:27:05,629 His tour culminates in Los Angeles, 263 00:27:05,679 --> 00:27:09,551 where Mon Oncle is in competition for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. 264 00:27:16,714 --> 00:27:20,195 And the winner is... My Uncle. 265 00:27:36,372 --> 00:27:41,914 I would like to say a few words with my very bad English. 266 00:27:42,294 --> 00:27:44,520 I find that people who speak the worst English 267 00:27:44,570 --> 00:27:46,296 want to talk more than the others. 268 00:27:47,774 --> 00:27:52,936 But for my first visit to Hollywood, 269 00:27:53,239 --> 00:27:55,090 I feel I'm doing fine. 270 00:28:03,253 --> 00:28:08,415 After the ceremony, Jacques Tati—French star among Hollywood stars... 271 00:28:08,575 --> 00:28:11,897 specifically requests to meet his silent film idols, 272 00:28:12,377 --> 00:28:15,098 including Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. 273 00:28:22,871 --> 00:28:25,252 Back in Paris, he is welcomed as a victor. 274 00:28:37,187 --> 00:28:39,528 The film-maker is at the height of success, 275 00:28:40,088 --> 00:28:42,847 but there's no question of him taking himself too seriously. 276 00:28:45,311 --> 00:28:49,472 In the small town hall of Le Pecq, the city where he was born 52 years earlier, 277 00:28:49,973 --> 00:28:53,074 he performs a low-budget remake of the Oscars ceremony, 278 00:28:53,494 --> 00:28:56,266 surrounded by his mother, his wife, and his friends. 279 00:29:25,227 --> 00:29:27,848 From the mayor of his town to the President of the Republic, 280 00:29:28,569 --> 00:29:31,121 Jacques Tati is congratulated by all of official France. 281 00:29:37,713 --> 00:29:39,291 Tati meets De Gaulle, 282 00:29:39,341 --> 00:29:42,113 but he politely declines the medal of Arts and Letters 283 00:29:42,163 --> 00:29:44,048 the government wishes to bestow upon him. 284 00:29:46,610 --> 00:29:49,096 "My behaviour in the exercise of my profession 285 00:29:49,146 --> 00:29:52,599 allows me to walk the streets whistling," he writes. 286 00:29:52,819 --> 00:29:55,460 "Hands in pockets, in the least formal outfits, 287 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:00,222 and I would feel obliged, in order to wear this decoration with dignity, 288 00:30:00,617 --> 00:30:01,926 to change my habits, 289 00:30:01,976 --> 00:30:05,584 which are the safeguard of my artistic and philosophical independence. 290 00:30:09,066 --> 00:30:11,006 "Tati fully intends to remain free. 291 00:30:12,067 --> 00:30:16,675 At the beginning of the 1960s, he gives up a film entitled The Illusionist, 292 00:30:16,726 --> 00:30:19,280 which would have told of his beginnings in the music hall, 293 00:30:19,330 --> 00:30:21,002 likely judging it too conventional. 294 00:30:22,627 --> 00:30:24,572 He embarks on his boldest project, 295 00:30:25,032 --> 00:30:28,434 his most difficult, the film that would become his greatest masterpiece. 296 00:30:32,581 --> 00:30:35,085 "I'm taking all the risks," he declares. 297 00:30:35,137 --> 00:30:36,997 "Either I succeed, or I fail. 298 00:30:37,277 --> 00:30:38,692 There is no middle ground." 299 00:30:52,004 --> 00:30:54,433 During his international tour, 300 00:30:54,483 --> 00:30:59,637 Tati observed the latest inventions in the service of efficiency and speed. 301 00:31:00,253 --> 00:31:02,059 Well-ordered office lives, 302 00:31:02,109 --> 00:31:05,286 but also a new kind of architecture beginning to rise. 303 00:31:21,156 --> 00:31:24,217 Tati decides that his next film, Playtime, 304 00:31:24,557 --> 00:31:26,936 will take place entirely in a standardized 305 00:31:27,166 --> 00:31:29,252 and ultra-modern urban environment. 306 00:31:29,699 --> 00:31:32,025 Far from the small village of Jour de Fête 307 00:31:32,088 --> 00:31:34,748 or the seaside resort of Mr. Hulot's Holiday. 308 00:31:40,534 --> 00:31:43,815 He begins a location scouting campaign that lasts ten months. 309 00:31:44,696 --> 00:31:47,457 He collects photos of new buildings in European cities: 310 00:31:47,781 --> 00:31:49,037 Berlin, Milan, 311 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:50,632 Helsinki, or Geneva. 312 00:31:56,681 --> 00:32:00,022 In Paris, the La Défense district does not yet exist. 313 00:32:00,822 --> 00:32:04,019 But Tati closely follows the construction of Orly Airport 314 00:32:04,069 --> 00:32:06,436 and films scouting footage there. 315 00:32:09,279 --> 00:32:13,501 Today, when you take a flight from Orly, 316 00:32:13,674 --> 00:32:17,600 You have an airport very similar to the one in New York. 317 00:32:18,001 --> 00:32:19,494 And when you arrive in London, 318 00:32:19,544 --> 00:32:24,247 you find almost the same layout as in Stockholm. 319 00:32:24,514 --> 00:32:28,794 And since the chairs in homes also look the same, 320 00:32:29,094 --> 00:32:33,366 you find at your friends' place the same chairs as at Orly Airport, 321 00:32:34,136 --> 00:32:36,496 the same chairs at Orly as in New York, 322 00:32:36,546 --> 00:32:39,821 and soon you begin to wonder why you even travel. 323 00:32:59,807 --> 00:33:03,339 Natural locations are deemed too limiting by Tati, 324 00:33:04,810 --> 00:33:08,170 Who decides that most of his film should be shot in an open-air studio. 325 00:33:09,711 --> 00:33:12,514 It would no longer be just one house, as in Mon Oncle, 326 00:33:12,565 --> 00:33:14,303 but an entire business district 327 00:33:14,353 --> 00:33:17,915 that Tati has designed by production designer Eugène Roman 328 00:33:18,155 --> 00:33:22,573 and built in the Paris suburbs starting in September 1964. 329 00:33:27,298 --> 00:33:29,866 This enormous construction site is filmed, 330 00:33:29,917 --> 00:33:33,652 as will be all the upcoming stages of Tati's extraordinary project. 331 00:33:35,122 --> 00:33:39,193 An 8-hectare vacant lot, 50,000 cubic metres of concrete, 332 00:33:41,024 --> 00:33:45,426 4,000 square metres of plastic, 1,200 square metres of glass, 333 00:33:46,386 --> 00:33:49,088 a piping system, asphalted roads, 334 00:33:49,468 --> 00:33:53,160 traffic lights and street lamps are built specifically. 335 00:33:56,944 --> 00:33:59,143 Thanks to these two power stations, 336 00:33:59,193 --> 00:34:02,837 Tati's set could supply electricity to a town of 15,000 inhabitants. 337 00:34:05,995 --> 00:34:09,167 It is the largest set ever built for a French film. 338 00:34:49,713 --> 00:34:52,653 Here we are in front of the model of Tativille. 339 00:34:52,704 --> 00:34:55,695 Mr. Tati, it’s a truly ultramodern city. 340 00:34:55,746 --> 00:34:57,184 Why call it "Tativille"? 341 00:34:57,235 --> 00:34:59,727 Because I don’t have a name for the city. 342 00:34:59,967 --> 00:35:03,349 You co-designed this city with architect Roman. 343 00:35:05,865 --> 00:35:10,080 - It’s a modern city. - Yes, it's a highly functional city, 344 00:35:10,131 --> 00:35:11,132 that's what it is. 345 00:35:11,192 --> 00:35:15,724 There is glass, steel. Why all these ultramodern materials? 346 00:35:15,774 --> 00:35:19,316 I don't believe it's ultramodern; 347 00:35:19,366 --> 00:35:21,926 I think it's what is being built today, 348 00:35:21,976 --> 00:35:25,398 and we're not here to criticise modern architecture. 349 00:35:28,639 --> 00:35:30,523 Once the set is completed, 350 00:35:30,573 --> 00:35:34,152 the film-maker starts casting the inhabitants of Tativille. 351 00:35:35,942 --> 00:35:38,585 He often hires non- professional actors who, 352 00:35:38,635 --> 00:35:41,384 in real life, do the job they will portray on screen. 353 00:35:43,505 --> 00:35:47,262 Because Tati seeks accurate gestures: 354 00:35:47,312 --> 00:35:51,869 the right body posture or the correct way of moving. 355 00:36:25,483 --> 00:36:27,364 Tati leaves nothing to chance. 356 00:36:27,944 --> 00:36:29,353 He tests bright colours 357 00:36:29,403 --> 00:36:33,806 that must stand out in the sea of grey dominating the first part of the film. 358 00:36:35,147 --> 00:36:38,799 He even takes time to test the colour of Mr. Hulot's socks, 359 00:36:38,888 --> 00:36:41,019 matching the rest of his costume. 360 00:36:44,051 --> 00:36:46,091 Will they be grey with mimosa yellow stripes, 361 00:36:46,612 --> 00:36:50,084 with brown suede shoes and slate grey trousers? 362 00:36:59,927 --> 00:37:02,558 Or perhaps greenish socks, 363 00:37:02,608 --> 00:37:07,670 with black leather shoes and charcoal grey trousers would suit better? 364 00:37:14,413 --> 00:37:16,474 To Tati, these details matter. 365 00:37:16,994 --> 00:37:20,416 Especially since he decided to shoot his film in 70mm. 366 00:37:20,796 --> 00:37:25,000 A large format film that shows every detail clearly 367 00:37:25,050 --> 00:37:28,299 and is usually reserved for big blockbuster productions. 368 00:37:29,131 --> 00:37:32,583 Tati's new film will be a poetic comedy 369 00:37:32,633 --> 00:37:35,765 shot with the technical resources of a Hollywood epic. 370 00:37:51,489 --> 00:37:55,751 Every set element is calibrated, measured like a mannequin, 371 00:37:55,806 --> 00:37:57,831 according to its size and proportions. 372 00:38:01,901 --> 00:38:05,134 Tati also has extras photographed in frozen poses, 373 00:38:05,695 --> 00:38:06,986 as if caught mid-motion. 374 00:38:20,281 --> 00:38:24,443 These photos are then cut out and become life-size silhouettes, 375 00:38:25,023 --> 00:38:26,463 which will populate Tativille 376 00:38:26,566 --> 00:38:29,798 and coexist with real flesh-and-blood extras. 377 00:38:32,841 --> 00:38:35,228 Like here, on the right of the screen, 378 00:38:35,278 --> 00:38:38,361 where a cut-out silhouette stands next to a motionless man, 379 00:38:38,729 --> 00:38:40,475 like a robot whose battery has died. 380 00:38:46,862 --> 00:38:51,975 For Tati, businessmen are robots and their movements form a strange ballet. 381 00:39:16,124 --> 00:39:20,706 For the lead female role, Tati definitely did not want a major star. 382 00:39:22,147 --> 00:39:25,240 He chose a former au pair of a couple of friends 383 00:39:25,290 --> 00:39:28,615 who worked as a secretary at Findus, in Frankfurt. 384 00:39:28,666 --> 00:39:31,128 - What's your name? - Barbara Dennek. 385 00:39:31,179 --> 00:39:34,937 - That's your name in Playtime as well. - That's right. 386 00:39:35,265 --> 00:39:39,652 - Is this your first role? - Yes. I've never acted before. 387 00:39:40,121 --> 00:39:43,110 - Do you know the script? - No, I don't. 388 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:44,353 Why not? 389 00:39:44,476 --> 00:39:47,947 Mr. Tati doesn't want us to read the script. 390 00:39:47,997 --> 00:39:50,780 He thinks it would make our acting feel unnatural. 391 00:39:54,993 --> 00:39:58,974 It is through Barbara's eyes that we will discover the big city, 392 00:39:59,025 --> 00:40:02,328 which, Tati says, must be the film's only real star. 393 00:40:23,871 --> 00:40:26,239 Why does the character of Mr. Hulot appear again? 394 00:40:26,473 --> 00:40:29,695 Because I like Mr. Hulot. 395 00:40:30,328 --> 00:40:35,840 The character proved successful and was well received abroad. 396 00:40:36,258 --> 00:40:42,170 Audiences like him in America, and they like him in England. 397 00:40:42,220 --> 00:40:47,127 I have no other heroes. He's simply mine. 398 00:41:06,050 --> 00:41:09,881 At the start of filming, in spring 1965, 399 00:41:09,931 --> 00:41:14,525 Tati focuses on scenes where Mr. Hulot wander through a maze of offices. 400 00:41:20,669 --> 00:41:23,690 More than ever, Hulot is a misfit character, 401 00:41:23,830 --> 00:41:26,763 lost in a world devoid of any human warmth. 402 00:41:52,119 --> 00:41:57,573 But in Playtime, Tati refuses for Mr. Hulot to occupy the film's centre. 403 00:42:01,403 --> 00:42:04,865 The film-maker stages the calculated withdrawal of his character, 404 00:42:05,365 --> 00:42:08,706 who sometimes steps aside to let others take centre stage. 405 00:42:22,792 --> 00:42:25,286 Tati even plays with fake Mr. Hulots, 406 00:42:25,336 --> 00:42:27,927 who appear from time to time around a scene's corner. 407 00:42:54,323 --> 00:42:59,317 In the month of June 1965, filming of Playtime is interrupted by a storm. 408 00:43:01,718 --> 00:43:04,062 Tativille suffers considerable damage 409 00:43:04,113 --> 00:43:06,920 and the production falls irreversibly behind. 410 00:43:08,901 --> 00:43:11,293 But it would take more than that to throw off Tati, 411 00:43:11,692 --> 00:43:14,775 Who has committed himself to a magnificent slow-motion race. 412 00:43:20,366 --> 00:43:23,759 The film-maker applies his usual method before filming each scene. 413 00:43:30,270 --> 00:43:33,163 But on Playtime, there are many actors involved. 414 00:43:33,972 --> 00:43:35,432 So everything takes longer. 415 00:43:58,922 --> 00:44:01,924 Tati's direction becomes a choreography, 416 00:44:02,384 --> 00:44:03,384 a show in itself. 417 00:44:07,875 --> 00:44:11,828 The director and mime occasionally grants himself a small role. 418 00:44:12,348 --> 00:44:14,506 Which he enjoys placing in the background, 419 00:44:14,556 --> 00:44:18,023 an invitation to observe every detail of the image. 420 00:44:23,618 --> 00:44:29,438 I put the film before my private life and before my personal comfort, 421 00:44:29,812 --> 00:44:32,116 whereas often, to make things easier, 422 00:44:32,787 --> 00:44:34,698 people sign quickly for other films 423 00:44:34,748 --> 00:44:36,988 just to change their car or their bathroom. 424 00:44:43,731 --> 00:44:44,811 Tati has doubts. 425 00:44:45,452 --> 00:44:46,752 He searches for release. 426 00:44:49,493 --> 00:44:53,575 He rehearses for hours, sometimes for entire days. 427 00:44:54,495 --> 00:44:56,856 He always wants a better take. 428 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:09,262 Some members of his technical team start calling him "Tatillon". 429 00:45:10,422 --> 00:45:11,763 The film-maker doesn't mind. 430 00:45:12,543 --> 00:45:15,524 He's not there to bend to the constraints of his massive crew, 431 00:45:15,984 --> 00:45:20,184 but to pursue his dream and stage his vision of the modern world, 432 00:45:20,338 --> 00:45:23,146 in a film like no one has ever made before. 433 00:45:55,509 --> 00:45:57,481 The shoot drags on. 434 00:46:19,531 --> 00:46:22,612 As the months go by, tensions rise. 435 00:46:24,253 --> 00:46:28,155 Bills pile up, bankers and suppliers grow impatient. 436 00:46:30,516 --> 00:46:35,578 The company renting the camera orders the seizure of a lens during the shoot. 437 00:46:40,450 --> 00:46:43,611 All means are considered to try to bail out the ship. 438 00:46:45,132 --> 00:46:47,313 Tati, who is also the producer of his film, 439 00:46:47,753 --> 00:46:49,534 decides to mortgage his house. 440 00:47:01,258 --> 00:47:02,885 A grand quixotic epic, 441 00:47:02,935 --> 00:47:07,821 the shooting of Playtime finally ends after 365 cumulative days of work, 442 00:47:08,602 --> 00:47:10,593 spread out over nearly three years. 443 00:47:14,694 --> 00:47:16,955 The athlete is exhausted by this mammoth production, 444 00:47:17,515 --> 00:47:19,296 but his fight is not yet over. 445 00:47:20,256 --> 00:47:24,358 He works day and night, fine-tuning his piece until the very last minute. 446 00:47:28,020 --> 00:47:33,572 But what is that little background music we're hearing? 447 00:47:33,622 --> 00:47:36,283 Wait, I'll tell you the exact spot. 448 00:47:41,695 --> 00:47:44,568 Several times, Tati delays the film's release, 449 00:47:44,977 --> 00:47:46,397 Unable to feel fully satisfied. 450 00:47:50,642 --> 00:47:54,515 People sometimes say a Tati film is never completely finished, is that true? 451 00:47:54,566 --> 00:47:57,879 - That's not a very kind thing to say. - But it's true, you said it yourself! 452 00:47:58,152 --> 00:48:02,354 Yes, I think so, because we're always afraid it's not quite right, 453 00:48:02,674 --> 00:48:03,815 that something is missing. 454 00:48:07,136 --> 00:48:11,478 In December 1967, after five years of relentless work, 455 00:48:12,038 --> 00:48:16,060 Tati finally premieres his film at the Cinéma L'Empire. 456 00:48:17,220 --> 00:48:19,878 He is surrounded by his family, his team, 457 00:48:19,928 --> 00:48:22,132 and all of Paris from the French film world. 458 00:48:30,236 --> 00:48:33,017 Tell him I'm at the Royal Carrefour. 459 00:48:53,045 --> 00:48:57,347 The day after the premiere, François Truffaut writes to Tati, 460 00:48:58,127 --> 00:49:01,249 Playtime is unlike anything that already exists in cinema. 461 00:49:02,269 --> 00:49:04,440 No other film is framed or mixed like this one. 462 00:49:04,490 --> 00:49:07,291 It's a film that comes from another planet, 463 00:49:07,731 --> 00:49:09,332 where films are made differently. 464 00:49:10,532 --> 00:49:15,821 Playtime is perhaps Europe of 1968 as seen by the first Martian film-maker. 465 00:49:16,888 --> 00:49:18,511 He sees what we no longer see, 466 00:49:18,561 --> 00:49:21,788 hears what we no longer hear, and films differently from us. 467 00:49:32,181 --> 00:49:37,024 The film audiences discover on screen indeed resembles no other. 468 00:49:38,264 --> 00:49:40,652 It culminates in a grand, euphoric scene 469 00:49:40,702 --> 00:49:43,546 that responds to the robotic ballet at the start of the film. 470 00:49:56,732 --> 00:49:59,273 Playtime is a dazzling artistic success. 471 00:50:00,113 --> 00:50:05,466 But it cost so much to make that French audiences alone can't cover its deficit. 472 00:50:31,916 --> 00:50:35,658 A success in the United States, where his previous films had done so well, 473 00:50:36,138 --> 00:50:38,439 could still save Tati from financial ruin. 474 00:50:40,380 --> 00:50:42,141 But nothing goes as planned. 475 00:50:43,761 --> 00:50:45,893 Playtime finds no takers in America. 476 00:50:56,367 --> 00:51:00,438 The film-maker had dreamed that his set would survive the filming of Playtime 477 00:51:00,488 --> 00:51:03,396 and be used by film school students. 478 00:51:11,843 --> 00:51:13,787 On the day they're demolished, 479 00:51:13,837 --> 00:51:17,619 he throws the film's script under one of the collapsing façades. 480 00:51:39,122 --> 00:51:43,334 For Tati, the consequences of Playtime's commercial failure are brutal. 481 00:51:44,477 --> 00:51:49,416 He must sell his house before seeing his company placed in receivership 482 00:51:49,466 --> 00:51:52,960 and his first four films put under sequestration. 483 00:51:55,261 --> 00:52:00,243 Now that Playtime is over, it really was a long adventure, a difficult one. 484 00:52:00,624 --> 00:52:04,851 I’d probably scare the production manager, Bernard Maurice, if I said, 485 00:52:04,964 --> 00:52:10,806 “Alright, on Monday we’ll think about the first shot of the next film!” 486 00:52:11,523 --> 00:52:13,426 But no, I need to take a break. 487 00:52:13,477 --> 00:52:17,171 You're going to rest. Will you change environments? 488 00:52:17,571 --> 00:52:18,571 I don't know. 489 00:52:20,092 --> 00:52:21,452 I've had... enough. 490 00:52:29,248 --> 00:52:33,630 From the end of the 1960s, Tati is no longer in demand. 491 00:52:34,278 --> 00:52:36,073 Hindered from realising his dreams 492 00:52:36,124 --> 00:52:38,505 or achieving the miraculous rise he had hoped for. 493 00:52:44,022 --> 00:52:46,503 French producers turn away from him. 494 00:53:04,750 --> 00:53:07,176 He works thanks to foreign investors. 495 00:53:08,370 --> 00:53:11,707 In 1971, he makes Traffic, 496 00:53:11,757 --> 00:53:15,555 produced in the Netherlands and partly filmed to try to pay off his debts. 497 00:54:03,035 --> 00:54:05,075 What happened? 498 00:54:12,339 --> 00:54:14,630 Traffic is a more modest film than Playtime, 499 00:54:16,001 --> 00:54:19,201 But it offers a unique gaze—both poetic and unsparing... 500 00:54:19,682 --> 00:54:22,074 on the standardized civilisation of the car. 501 00:54:29,096 --> 00:54:31,127 For the only time in all of Tati's work, 502 00:54:31,857 --> 00:54:33,949 Mr. Hulot opens his signature umbrella. 503 00:54:48,944 --> 00:54:51,955 Jacques Tati, will we ever see M. Hulot on screen again? 504 00:54:52,005 --> 00:54:57,707 Yes, yes, yes, I hope so, because I believe that as he gets older, 505 00:54:57,868 --> 00:54:59,708 he's going to become even more eccentric. 506 00:55:00,409 --> 00:55:04,559 And I think at that point, I have nothing to do with the story, 507 00:55:04,610 --> 00:55:09,372 on the contrary, I think we can really let loose as we get older. 508 00:55:18,686 --> 00:55:21,999 In 1973, Tati stages Parade, 509 00:55:22,049 --> 00:55:25,889 produced thanks to Swedish television and filmed at the Stockholm circus. 510 00:55:29,611 --> 00:55:34,013 In front of the camera, he recreates acts from his musical hall performances, 511 00:55:34,193 --> 00:55:37,405 sporting impressions that had made him famous in his youth. 512 00:56:16,330 --> 00:56:20,592 After a long battle, Tati manages to recover the rights to his films, 513 00:56:21,112 --> 00:56:23,873 which are re-released in theatres and find a new audience. 514 00:56:53,146 --> 00:56:56,978 Proof that he hadn't lost his spirit and was still seeking innovation, 515 00:56:57,689 --> 00:57:02,317 Tati decides to shoot new scenes for the canoe sequence in Mr. Hulot's Holiday, 516 00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:06,341 which he integrates 25 years later into the final edit of his film. 517 00:57:30,838 --> 00:57:34,620 Shortly before, Tati had seen Steven Spielberg's Jaws, 518 00:57:34,893 --> 00:57:37,674 which he had found very impressive. 519 00:57:52,340 --> 00:57:57,142 One November night in 1982, Jacques Tati takes his final holiday, 520 00:57:57,703 --> 00:58:00,432 without his final screenplay, Confusion, 521 00:58:00,482 --> 00:58:03,998 which was to open with the death of M. Hulot, ever being filmed. 522 00:58:23,063 --> 00:58:25,966 Shortly before his death, he had declared 523 00:58:26,016 --> 00:58:27,945 "Playtime caused me great suffering, 524 00:58:28,506 --> 00:58:32,158 physically and financially, but it's truly the film I wanted to make. 525 00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:36,942 I'm proud of Playtime, it will always be my finest film."