For his final film, Jacques Tati takes his camera to the circus, where the director himself serves as master of ceremonies. Though it features many spectacles, including clowns, jugglers, acrobats, contortionists, and more, Parade also focuses on the spectators, making this stripped-down work a testament to the communion between audience and entertainment.
Il circo di Tati, Zafarrancho en el circo, Парад, 游行, 퍼레이드, תהלוכה, Xafarranxo al circ
France
Cannes Film Festival
FranceU
Sweden
JapanG
France
Japan
Sweden
For someone who starred in all of his films, Jacques Tati always made it clear that he is one of the most selfless filmmakers of all time. Parade proves his films were never about him, or Hulot, or anyone specifically. They were about everyone and they were for everyone. They questioned the role of entertainment while entertaining. This idea is finalized in this last film of his not through words, not through a narrative, but through reds, yellows, blues, and pure joy. A humble end to a beautiful, overlooked career.
Jacques Tati's final film, easily the most misunderstood and reviled of his 6 comedic masterpieces, is one of cinema's most imperfectly perfect statements for the democratization of comedy. Shot over a period of only 3 days for Swedish television, it's a hybrid fiction-documentary that details a series of circus acts, with Tati starring as the Master of Ceremonies. It's like an avant-garde episode of Saturday Night Live where you can't tell who the actors and the audience are. The first half proceeds like a straightforward circus act, with adroit jugglers, miming, and mule-rides a-plenty. But read between the lines. What happens in Parade (and especially in the film's bizarre second half) is a total rethinking of the possibilities of comedy.…
I enjoyed this a lot more than the kid in the second row did
Although it very much resembles one, this film is not called Circus, because a circus is about the performers; in a parade, however, the line between the performer and the viewer is blurred. Even before Parade, Tati’s films were always more of parades than circuses: his comedy relies on the active participation of his spectators, and Parade is the literal manifestation of that principle: a fully interactive multimedia project that would be literally incomplete without audience participation. Parade is a mediation on performance and its limits: is performance restricted to the professionals? Is it limited to the performance hall? Is it actually paused at entr’acte? Or is it over when the show ends? “My film begins when you leave the theater,” Tati once said about PlayTime. I have a feeling that it would also be the answer here.
Although not on par with any of his films featuring Mr. Hulot, Tati’s Parade is still a joy to watch. From the incredible juggling to the prankster mule, there is never a dull moment.
The Stop Making Sense of vaudeville circus movies.
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This is the final film by Jacques Tati, even though I don't think it's up to scratch as some of his others, it completely encapsulates the meaning of his work. He took so many tricks, stunts and jokes from is other films and created this great show for a live audience.
From Jour De Fete to Parade, Jacques Tati's work has clearly inspired and revolutionised physical comedy for the better. I know for certain I will never get bored of his incredible films and I advise everyone to watch them.
Thank you, Jacques Tati!
Everything I wanted in a Jacques Tati film and honestly more. Maybe it's not his best, neither is it his most well made, but God, was I entertained. Really showcased Tati's sentimentality, his willingness to make people laugh even before the end of his life. Little moments like these exude the most amount of empathy and it's overall just a super cute movie.
Maybe it's all pointless or maybe I will lower the rating of this eventually. It's not even Tati's best but by this point, why would I care when I was just so happy watching this, it's so cute and Tati did what he was best at. To make people laugh. I should probably get back to writing my manhwa.
Let me just get this out of the way – Parade is one of the strangest, most joyous films I’ve ever seen, yet the exact reasons behind its utter charm are still a mystery to me. I first saw it on video a few years back and while I found much to respect and enjoy about all of the film’s various performers, I felt like I was missing something. After seeing it in the theater with a responsive audience, I am a bit more certain of where its charms lie. First, let me explain what it’s all about. Tati gathered a couple dozen performers from a variety of backgrounds (musicians, acrobats, jugglers, dancers, etc.) and for a live performance with…
La última película del gran Jacques Tati no podría ser ni mas ni menos que un conjunte de toda su carrera. Tanto sus peculiares pero divertidos gags, los diferentes puntos de vista en cada personaje y la alegría que transmite. Todo acá.
Una despedida hermosa de toda una carera fílmica, y una carta de amor a todo lo que representa Tati. Parade: Su obra menos valorada.
Jacques Tati might be the most influential director with the shortest filmography in the history of cinema. He completed just five feature films (plus this one television special) yet his artistic legacy continues to find expression in cinema and on TV to this day. He's a stated influence on Wes Anderson, David Lynch, Steven Spielberg, Rowan Atkinson and so many others. Buster Keaton once told Tati that his work had carried on the true traditions of silent cinema, and while that's a compliment that's absolutely deserved, it's not quite an accurate description. Tati's films are like silent movies in that they're non-verbal – there's a lot of dialogue but it's A. totally redundant to the story, and B. used more…
