Jacques Tati
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Jacques Tati

Ed. José Miguel Ganga.
(AGOTADO)
Just like all the other great comedians - save Woody Allen - Jacques Tati has never been very talkative nor too explicit in regard to his intentions which - undoubtedly - can be summed up in the most simple and traditional objective: making people laugh.

Therefore, it may seem daring to attribute such a long term aim to the author of My uncle since that means going further than only fulfilling that natural and modest purpose. Yet, if a cineaste works so sporadically as Tati, one can't help but suppose that during the long periods of enforced inactivity that separate each of his films, Tati wouldn't have seized to think about what he would like to do but can't, neither to think about how he would do it if the occasion would present itself. Rather, one could imagine that Tati would occupy himself with accurate planning of his next move, always knowing that it could be his last one. On the other hand, his sense of humor is not the most spontaneous, nor does anything in his films seem improvised: His films - the good ones and bad ones alike - are characterized by a level of elaboration and precision that seem to confirm the hypothesis that whatever happens in his films is carefully considered beforehand and nothing is left for chance.


Excerpt of the book, part of the article El proyecto Tati by Miguel Marías.