Jacques Tati: His Life and Art

by David Bellos

The full story of one of France's greatest cinema legends, a clown whose film-making innovation was to turn everyday life into an art form.

Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot, unmistakable with his pipe, brolly and striped socks, was a creation of slapstick genius that made audiences around the world laugh at the sheer absurdity of life. This biography charts Tati's rise and fall, from his earliest beginnings as a music hall mime during the Depression, to the success of Jour de Fête and Mon Oncle, to Playtime, the grandiose masterpiece that left the once celebrated director bankrupt and begging for equipment to complete his final films.

Analysing Tati's singular vision, Bellos reveals the intricate staging of his most famous gags and draws upon hitherto inaccessible archives to produce a unique assessment of his work and its context for film lovers and film students alike.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Art

571 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

David Bellos is the director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University, where he is also a professor of French and comparative literature. He has won many awards for his translations of Georges Perec, Ismail Kadare, and others, including the Man Booker International Translator’s Award. He also received the Prix Goncourt for George Perec: A Life in Words.

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating biography on one of the great movers in the cinema arts. My friend Kimley reminded me of this book when she put it up on this website.

David Bellos who wrote the bio, is himself quite interesting. He translated some of Georges Perec's fiction as well as writing a major biography on him. I kept thinking 'what is the connection between Perec and Tati?" Which the answer is Tati is very much part of the world of Perec and other giants of the 20th Century. One can see him part of the music hall world, but that is just one world. Bellos made a mistake in not identifying Sparks, who hopefully were involved in a film project with Tati - but it failed due to Tati's health and the financial world at the time. Nevertheless this is a very good biography on an unique artist with a vision.

Tati is probably one of the great modern filmmakers in the late 20th Century. The other being Buster Keaton.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our household recently received a big flat screen lcd tv, gratis from a friend (thanks Felicia! if you even visit this site anymore...), so I've been watching movies from my collection as if for the first time. Last night I put in Tati's Playtime - ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS OF ALL TIME - and was reminded of this bio. He put his whole life into this film, staking everything... and it flopped, nearly ruining him; but now it stands as a wonderful testament to not only free and precise and uncompromising filmmaking, but also as a celebration of the interlocking dance of urban life while mercilessly mocking politics and technology, and putting forth a philosophy of interconnectedness and humorously detached involvement. It also happens to be a beautifully chaste love story.

This book is a good overview of Tati's very interesting life, with plentiful details of his aesthetic practices.

[Geoff]

Bellos - Perec biographer and translator - wrote a book on Tati? Sold!

[Taylor Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book delivered quite well on the main thing I hope for from Biographical writing: providing interesting insight into the historical and cultural context of the subject. While you will learn a lot about Tati’s own life, opinions, and artistic output, you will also learn quite a bit about entertainment and leisure in France and the French film industry in general through out this time period. I found it very refreshing to read a film book that wasn’t just wrapped up in a romanticized version of Hollywood and instead showed what it was like for other country’s film industries to compete in the world market.

One thing I found quite interesting was the discussion of what French entertainers got up to during the occupation of France by the Germans on WW2. I had never really considered how difficult it must have been to earn your bread through out that time without feeling like a nazi collaborator or appeaser to some degree, and how entertainers faced varying degrees of backlash from the public after the war.

I was impressed by how Tati seemed to keep his professional focus, such that it was, on creating pieces of art that weren’t simply vehicles to increase his own fame as a leading comic actor, but rather a sort of democratized version of comedy where the entire cast is responsible for bringing together the gags and mimery that make these films so memorable. The story of Tati putting up and losing all of his (and many other people’s) money in order to create Playtime, a film so ambitious in its scale and almost ridiculous for its lack of commercial viability also lends weight to the argument that Tati was something closer to an artist than just a film director.

My main problem with this book is that there seemed to be an imbalance in its focus between Tati’s earlier and later movies. The first few movies undergo what feels like something close to a gag by gag analysis, which gets to be a bit much, while the incredible story of the Tativille set created for Playtime feels comparatively glossed over. Overall though, very interesting and well written, absolutely worth a read.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very readable biography of Jacques Tati as filmmaker, and one that overturns the conception that many cinephiles may have had about the man. David Bellos shows how in spite of Tati maintaining friendships with many French intellectuals and his films becoming part of the canon of art cinema, Tati himself was no intellectual at all. He did poorly in school, reportedly had problems with even basic arithmetic all his life, and definitely never read any of the books that his friends were writing or citing. That makes the achievement of films like Playtime, where there are often multiple gags simultaneously happening on the elaborately constructed sets, all the more remarkable.

After the initial chapters on Tati’s youth and early work as a mime, Bellos takes us through the production of Tati’s films, with their interesting details of fruitful collaboration with others and financing. The reason why the production of Playtime came to be seen as a legendary debacle, and Tati’s bankruptcy, is explored in detail. But Bellos also goes beyond the production details and describes Tati’s humor, the sort of gags he set up and the camerawork he employed to show them.

One might quibble that Bellos doesn’t go into Tati’s personal life much at all, aside from mentioning his marriage and two children, and one late mistress. But that’s a totally valid choice in order to focus on the films themselves within the constraints of this number of pages. But one downside of this book for cinephiles is that its writing and publication in the 1990s came just before a new wave of restoration and re-releasing of Tati’s films. So, we don’t get much detail on Tati’s estate and subsequent developments there.

[Skylar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite his lack of experience as a film critic/academic, David Bellos displays routine understanding of how to portray an artist and his art within the context of a life, combining a formal study of most of the director's films throughout multiple chapters with an in-depth timeline of their production between his music-hall acts and conflicted relationships. Some familiarity with the films—watched or not—makes for a better read.

[Vlad Babei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written with warmth, elegance and a painstaking attention to detail redolent of a true investigative venture, David Bellos’ superb and always engrossing account of Jacques Tati’s personal and professional life serves as a constant reminder of the French master’s leading principle: seeing the comedy in the most banal and minuscule acts of everyday living; and it is in this plea toward the democratization of the gag that actually lies the key to survival in a contemporary world structured on uniformity and impersonal efficiency. I will be forever indebted to Jacques Tati for providing me with the tools to maintain my sanity in a hysterical world.

[James Kinsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book, and a fitting tribute to one of the finest screen comedians and filmmakers of all time. I'm a huge fan of Tati, and found this a fascinating read. Very much focused on the work, whilst we get a decent resume of his early life, once we get into the films, what glimpses of his personal life we get are all in the context of where his career was. His life between the completion of Parade and his death, therfore, is covered in a matter of paragraphs. But we get enough of the man to understand him, and this focus on his work above his life matches perhaps Tati's own priorities. That said, the depth of detail on the films is excellent, and so well put over. When I first flicked through the book, I was a bit wary, seeing what looked like a lot of dry, technical detail, especially to someone who's not that knowledgeable about the technicalities of filmmaking. Chapters on aspect ratio, and colour techniques, and the dissection of framing all seemed daunting, but in the event were very easy reads, in part due to how well they're written, but also because it's made readily apparent why these things mattered to Tati and the purpose they serve in his films. Put simply, this is a great book not only on Tati, but also on visual film comedy in general. An absolute must-read for any fans of Tati.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Tati-fan, this biography is a must read. The stories from the period between M. Hulot's Holiday and Playtime are both amazing and heart breaking. David Bellos has translated Perec, and clearly has a strong interest in the Situationists -- some of these threads were extremely helpful in understanding why I love Tati so much. Delving deeper into Tati's mime and music hall background was also quite instructive.

If you're not familiar with Tati's films, M. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime are all available on DVD in the U.S. -- Playtime is an absolute masterpiece, and essential viewing for anyone interested in filmmaking or photography.

[Tony Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed but elegantly written book about a comedian who turned everyday activity into art.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book accomplished what a book like this should do, which is inspire you to re-watch favorite films again with a new appreciation.

[Beverly Manring · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me. This was a fresh take on an old theme and was a quick read. That being said, I felt there was very good character development that swept me up with the rest of the characters. It begins with Nicholas, the Duke of Gordon, who returns home from war to find out his mother has betrothed him to Collette, a sharp edged, shrill woman, who his siblings detest. She was, however thick as thieves with his mother, both determined that there will be an upcoming wedding. Nicholas, is determined there will not. He also sees that his siblings have not been cared for by their mother, rather duty fell to his younger sister. The Duke, as a small child, had boiling water hit the left side of his face, leaving him disfigured. He never found a debutante that was able to look at his uncovered face. Instead they would scream and run away. this caused him to wear a mask to keep from looking like a monster. Colette was no different when she saw the Duke without his mask. Yet Collette and his mother were still determined that they were betrothed and continued to spend her energy planning a wedding. This was the first in a series by Brenna Ash. I am anxiously awaiting the next. Special thanks to the following for allowing me to review an early unedited copy and give my own honest opinion. I would definitely recommend this this book.
#NetGalley
#DragonbladePublishing
#BrennaAsh
#SweetRogueO’Mine
Publication DateMarch 26, 2024
Get your copy for your weekend read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

1️⃣ First in a series
👑 Regency romance
🕯️ Slow burn
👩‍❤️‍👨 Found family
Nicholas and Gwen’s sweet romance will have you cheering them on as they deal with a sticky situation brought on by his mother. Fans of “Pride and Prejudice” will see the similarities to Mrs. Bennett in Nicholas’ mother and her obsession with matchmaking. However, Nicholas forges his own path with the shy “garden nymph” (AKA Gwen) who is caring for her brothers after tragedy befalls their parents. As their siblings become closer, and Nicholas’ friends arrive to provide support, Nicholas determines to make Gwen his own. The road isn’t smooth, but true love will always win.
Received from NetGalley.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and awe inspiring story. Part of a series, this provides us with the story of Ella, now grown up and Caden.

Spun with family, banter, love and incredible creativity from the author this story will grab your attention and your heart. Both characters are very focused, pig headed but supportive as well as protective of each other.
Beautifully crafted with the amazing talents of this author who brings us story after story of romance and joy. An honor to read her works and a blessing that she shares them so freely with the world.

[Lisa H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beauty and the wounded bear...

I really enjoyed Lady Ella and Caden Seaton.
Lady Ella meets Caden again after he has been badly injured in the war and she is nursing him. He is surly, rude and throwing things because he's a wounded bear, in pain and ashamed. Ella is no nonsense and strong and doesn't take his gruff. She sees right through to his pain. There's a little bit of moonstone magic.
Recommend.

[Texastwang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Moonstone Hero. It was similar tragic hero as the first book but the plot was of course different. This book is the story of the oldest of the nieces. Although I did miss the ghost of the captain, all the other characters were vastly amusing. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with guidelines.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like reading an undergrad term paper.

[Eglė Pačkauskaitė · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Tati had always been very proud of his work, and rightly so. But he had never thought much of himself."
He was an example of uncompromising authenticity, very rare to find, 'tis all.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The movie creations of the great French mime analyzed from idea through completion.

[Kookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemed like the author didn’t have a ton of respect for his subject, but the behind-the-scenes stories were very interesting.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes it seem miraculous tati managed to make anything at all

[Wendy Crittenden · Rating 4 out of 5]

for my thesis, about to crack it open.