Parade

Name: Parade
Director: Jacques Tati
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 1974
Duration: 1 h 52 min
Cast: Jacques Tati, Karl Kossmayer, Les Williams, Les Vétérans, Les Sipolo

Save

Comedy
Family

1974
Jacques Tati
112 mins
PG

Summary

Two children go behind the scenes of a small circus. Comedy, directed by and starring Jacques Tati. In French, Swedish and English

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Calum Baker

Jacques Tati's final feature is an uneven curio, but a touching end to the career of one of cinema's most influential comedians. Produced on the cheap for Swedish TV, it's basically a variety show: a slew of musical and acrobatic acts, including Tati himself, perform for a live audience in Stockholm's Cirkus venue. There are flashes of Tati's usual directorial ambition in the way he invites audience participation, as well as a few minor backstage skits, but this is far from the cinematic mastery of Mon Oncle and Playtime. Bizarre changes in image quality, from sad-looking 1970s broadcast video to 35mm film, hardly help matters. Still, the acts are generally proficient - with some remarkable juggling and a tonne of pratfalls -while the audience, though probably not as involved as Tati intended, provides some neat, documentary-like material. The film's most vital passages come when our genial host resurrects the sport-themed mimes that brought him music-hall stardom in the 1930s, and the spry 66-year-old delivers beautifully for the act's only filmed record. This is all a tad ramshackle, but it has a good-natured charm and some solid laughs.

imdb-square

5.9/10

How to watch

Loading

Credits

Cast

rolenameCircus performerJacques TatiCircus performerKarl KossmayerCircus performerLes WilliamsCircus performerLes VétéransCircus performerLes SipoloCircus performerPierre BrammaCircus performerMichèle BraboCircus performerPia Colombo