Parade

Those looking for the sustained genius of Jacques Tati need to look else where. This is a wildly uneven filmed record of a circus performance. Tati acts as master of ceremonies and performs some of his music hall routines, while other circus people do their things. We also watch as "off stage", but plainly in view, the performers get ready for their routines and prepare props and paintings. Its an uneven mix that swings from very clever (hockey team with string quartet or the magic tricks) to dull (some of Tati's bits and say the polka band). Its best to have the remote ready.

As I said at the start, those looking for the magic of the earlier Tati films are bound to be disappointed. That said there are some moments that are pure Tati such as some of the shots showing the audience filing in and being an audience, no one would dare show people being people other than Tati. There are some wonderful throw aways, the motorcycle helmets, the people trying to get into the right "studio" that play like deleted scenes from Playtime or M. Hulot's Holiday. They are small seconds long bits but they make wading through the dull spots worth it.

Probably the weakest of all the films Tati made, its still worth a look for those who need to get a fix of Jacques Tati. I'd recommend renting it rather than buying it simply because its probably not going to be something you'll watch again, or repeatedly.

PARADE is basically the presentation of a circus performance, in which artistes interact with the audience in a series of set pieces - juggling acts, tightrope walks, clowning, balloon fights, plus one or two routines in which Tati demonstrates his remarkable talent for mime. The film's artificialities are evident: we see cardboard cutouts of members of the audience among live-action actors, while the performers sometimes talk to inanimate objects. Tati's purpose, although not overtly stated, seems to be to show how life is like a circus, with all of us indulging in a series of ritualized actions which, although meaningful in themselves, can also be considered absurd. This is definitely true of some of his set-pieces - for example the very funny routine where he imitates a boxer going into a championship bout. However, a series of routines do not necessarily make for an entertaining film: some of the performances involving actors other than Tati are distinctly second- rate, while the audience - when Tati's camera shows them in close-up - sometimes look thoroughly bored with the proceedings, despite the enthusiastic applause on the soundtrack. Judged by his previous oeuvre, PARADE is sadly a very second-rate piece: one feels sad that the great director could not have bowed out on a more positive note.

Tati's last film -- done as a TV Special in Sweden -- is a circus show. Tati appears as the master of ceremonies and does three or four of his skits. There is a brass band. There are acrobats and jugglers and Pia Colombo sings the theme song towards the end. She sings it like she's Piaf singing "Je Ne Regrette Rien". It's a pleasant show.

Like I said, it's Tati's last movie (although I am sure he hoped otherwise), done after PLAYTIME and TRAFFIC had been bankrupting flops. So did Tati make this, thinking he'd do some of his old routines, make a few kronas and see if he could get back to his real projects? It's a tempting idea, and one could hardly blame Tati. He is adored by many, disliked by a few. I think he was a serious artist who used his clowning to comment on a deep dissatisfaction with the modern world, and his self-aware disdain for speed and technology and the latest fad were at the heart of his movies. And because of his artistic certainty and lack of anyone to tell him no, he had forgotten that film is a commercial art, and you can never forget the audience you are making it for.... its size, as well as its empathy.

Notice the painted audience members on the sets. Notice the shots of the audience, as they enter, as they observe, as they enter the ring for one or two events, and as they leave. I think Tati was telling himself, if not his audience, that he had to be more careful in the future, remember who he was making his movies for. It's a shame he never got another chance.

Tati's last movie plays in and around a circus performance. You get to see the acts, good and bad, the artists behind the scenes and the audience, from entering the arena to the audience reactions.

Two things strike you:

The artists are always creating and doing things. They are painting, acting, playing, juggling, whether on stage or behind the scenes. They never stop being creative. Tati shortens the creative process and mainly focuses on what is perceived by the artists and the audience/at the intersection. Sometimes, the acts of the artists will clash with each other, sometimes they are complimentary. Some acts are good, some misfire.

This is where the audience really comes in. Watch the audience reactions. Tati has set the scene from the beginning, showing you the cross section of the typical audience attending, making fun of some signs of the time and contrasting it against ... well, have a look at what is placed in the audience section; Tati leaves some hints as to what he thinks of those attending the show/art parade - critique is mixed with compliments and acceptance. The audience (a nice selection) will become involved in the creation of the art - in fact it appears impossible to separate the artists from the audience at times. The audience reactions are also telling - Tati shows us typical audience behavior from overbearing enjoyment to boredom. The placement of these reactions is very deliberate - there is a lot to pick up on and I suggest to view the movie a few times, focusing on different aspects of it.

Typical for a Tati movie there is some whimsy and the humour sways between slapstick and subtle satire. It is telling that Tati attempts to show a cross section of modern (for the times) and old fashioned especially in the music. In this he embraces both old and new. The film ends in a scene that shows that creativity and art leads to inspiration, where it counts and where it is allowed to grow.

Don't watch this as a circus movie; watch this as an art process and suddenly you will see a plot in the movie that is otherwise very easy to miss. This movie is Tati's final statement about art; it is not his most accessible movie and will probably only appeal to you, if you are willing to watch the movie a few times and spend some time thinking about it in between. So, not recommended for casual viewing.

Jacques Tati's swansong is an affectionate return to roots, recreating some of the vaudeville routines of his past on stage at a Swedish circus, in a short program originally made for Scandinavian TV. Tati himself, serving as ringmaster for the troupe of acrobats and clowns, puts his aging but still limber body on display during a transitional set of solo pantomime turns. The show is frequently hilarious (some of the audience interaction with the performers is clearly not unscripted), but as a farewell effort of a comic genius responsible for some of the biggest laughs since the glory days of silent film comedy it can certainly come as an anti-climax. And because the stage show was 'filmed' using a crude early video process, it almost resembles a bootleg live rehearsal for the next, never made Tati feature.