‘School for Postmen’: early Jacques Tati magic
In a world where the perception of comedy is becoming more and more polarised in public discourse, many younger cinephiles are turning to the masterpieces left behind by pioneers like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. French auteur Jacques Tati is another fascinating artist who definitely belongs in that timeless category, a claim that is reinforced by the strength of his illustrious filmography and his glorious achievements as a director as well as a comedian.
During a period of concerning economic instability, Tati embarked on the bold journey to be a performer, and it turned out to be the right decision. After garnering a lot of attention via his theatrical performances, he eventually ventured into the realm of cinema, which proved to be the perfect medium for his comedic sensibilities. Starting out as an actor and screenwriter, Tati worked his way up to the directorial efforts we all know and love now.
When any discussion about Tati’s cinema comes up, the first film that always gets mentioned is the 1967 magnum opus Play Time. It is truly the apotheosis of his work because it uses the sharpness of his comedy to critique the absurdity of modernity, seen through the lenses of different frameworks like architecture and sociology. In fact, a lot of his body of work played around with these central concerns, including Trafic.
However, one of his first projects as a director solely focused on the incredibly difficult craft of physical comedy. Titled School for Postmen, the 1947 film starred Tati as a postman who receives specialised training in order to increase his speed and efficiency. Unfortunately, the training completely backfires because whoever designed the routine probably didn’t compensate for Tati’s eccentric mannerisms and unique spatial motions.
School for Postmen is a particularly interesting example of Tati’s genius since it marks the beginning of his reign as one of the most acclaimed comedic directors in European cinema. While his romps as Monsieur Hulot are the ones that won the hearts of audiences all over the world, it’s this 1947 short that paved the way for those future successes. Specifically, it laid the groundwork for Tati’s 1949 feature Jour de fête, which borrows liberally from its predecessor.
In School for Postmen, we observe objects and people floating in and out of the frame, experiencing a strange form of liberation from the otherwise serious constraints of physics. Ranging from planes flying awkwardly into the sky to bicycles moving on their own across vast landscapes, the objects that make up Tati’s bizarre world aren’t nearly as rooted as the ones in ours. Neither is he, refreshingly unburdened by the troubles of life, as he chases after not just the mail but an ideal.
Watch the hilarious training scene from the film below.
