Early Tati. Comedy not as natural as in his later masterpieces. Simple satire on American business methods - speed, speed, speed! But Tati (as Francois the rural postman with the swinging satchel) isn't the loner/outsider that M. Hulot became. In fact, here Francois becomes the village idiot at times and not really funny at all. Still, a nostalgic delight. I watched a tinted/colourised version which gave the picture a washed-out look.

Once a year the fair comes for one day to the little town Sainte-Severe-sur-Indre. All inhabitants are scoffing at Francois (Jacques Tati), the postman, but he seems not to recognize. The film is largely a feature-length extension of Tati's earlier short "School for Postmen".The film is largely a visual comedy, though dialogue is still used to tell part of the story. This really calls to mind the silent greats of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd. Had Tati been born a couple decades earlier, he might have been included among their ranks.While not perfect, and with less-than-stellar production value, the promise of Tati is evident here. His future films (including "Mr. Hulot's Holiday") would expand on this comic intellect.

I came to this movie with a bias against slapstick as personified by Chaplin, a tolerance for the Buster Keaton variety and a definite leaning towards Laurel and Hardy. Tati, of course is neither yet has elements of all three (or four if you're a pedant). The word that springs to mind is 'gentle' for whilst there is definite satire at work it's satire with its teeth drawn. Tati wants us to love French provincial life as he loves it and rage against 'modernisation' and clearly you will enjoy his oeuvre more if you are sympathetic to his cause. Much has been made in the reviews I've read here of the color aspect but as I see it this is beside the point. If color was a necessity for any points he wanted to make then he would have abandoned the project until a color system could be perfected rather than shoot a black and white back-up version. What really matters is the story or lack of same and the way in which he chooses to tell it which is, overall, successful.

Originally intended to be shown fully in colour, there is now a DVD release of the film in which every frame is colorized, however the most widely available print as of 2005 is a black and white one with a few objects coloured in by hand. That is the version that I watched, and which this review is about. The film has similarities to Tati's famous M. Hulot tetralogy, and although inferior, this is still amusing stuff, with the gags delivered through the action of the characters rather than their speech. The film is pretty much without plot, and the main story involving a postman only starts a significant way into it, but it still manages to amuse. The narration by an old woman does not enhance the film though. Certain random objects are coloured in for the black and white print, and while this is interesting too see, it is just a gimmick, and not anything artistic. There is little, if any, thematic motivation behind the choices of what is to be in colour, and therefore it barely enhances the film. Overall it is still an above average film despite its drawbacks, there is some interesting sound work and the selected music is delightful. It is entertaining, but lacking in the depth that 'Mon Oncle' and 'PlayTime' would display.