Having owned copies of most of Jacques Tati's films on DVD, I couldn't wait to see this documentary on TV tonight.
This is a film that has treated with great sensitivity the life work of M. Tati rather than the life and times of the protagonist of the piece.
I felt compelled to create this post as I felt that some of 'reviews' on this board appeared (to me anyway) to sell this documentary short.
Comments about this brevity (60 mins), does not mean that it lacked quality and the talking-head interviews conducted were edited well and brought to life the subject's approach to film-making & his unique techniques which may never be emulated by anyone ever.
There was a comment suggesting disappointment over the omission of details about Tati's family (wife, son & daughter, Sophie). Sorry, but we are not expecting a Hollywood celebrity style of bio pic here, but a serious film about one of the most individual and important filmmakers of the 20th Century and his work. Fortunately, the publicly aired bickering by his descendents over which daughter that his un-produced script "The Illusionist" refers to was left out of this documentary. This is best left for another time if and when the issue is ever resolved.
For me, the best interviews were with Mme. Marie-France Siegler, Tati's faithful assistant who provides great insight to how Tati felt after the failure of "Play Time". The other significant interview was with Macha Makeïeff who's work through "Les films de Mon Oncle", has enabled us to view the wonderful restoration of Tati's finest films (not including 'Trafic').
For film lovers of Jacques Tati, this is an excellent and compact documentary, although not perfect and I don't think you will be disappointed.
Ciao et tu, Bruté?
This is a film that has treated with great sensitivity the life work of M. Tati rather than the life and times of the protagonist of the piece.
I felt compelled to create this post as I felt that some of 'reviews' on this board appeared (to me anyway) to sell this documentary short.
Comments about this brevity (60 mins), does not mean that it lacked quality and the talking-head interviews conducted were edited well and brought to life the subject's approach to film-making & his unique techniques which may never be emulated by anyone ever.
There was a comment suggesting disappointment over the omission of details about Tati's family (wife, son & daughter, Sophie). Sorry, but we are not expecting a Hollywood celebrity style of bio pic here, but a serious film about one of the most individual and important filmmakers of the 20th Century and his work. Fortunately, the publicly aired bickering by his descendents over which daughter that his un-produced script "The Illusionist" refers to was left out of this documentary. This is best left for another time if and when the issue is ever resolved.
For me, the best interviews were with Mme. Marie-France Siegler, Tati's faithful assistant who provides great insight to how Tati felt after the failure of "Play Time". The other significant interview was with Macha Makeïeff who's work through "Les films de Mon Oncle", has enabled us to view the wonderful restoration of Tati's finest films (not including 'Trafic').
For film lovers of Jacques Tati, this is an excellent and compact documentary, although not perfect and I don't think you will be disappointed.
Ciao et tu, Bruté?