Jacques Tati: A Bike Enthusiasts' Inspiration

Several weeks ago I attended the "Bike Shorts: International Cycling Cinema" event at the Pacific Cinematheque to celebrate Bike Month, and was particularly entertained by "L'ecole des Facteurs" (Cady Films, 1947).

This French black and white film was the precursor to a full-length movie "Jour de Fete" (Tati, 1949), featuring slap-stick comedian Jacques Tati. Strangely enough my bike companion happens to resemble Tati with his jaunty moustache, shifty eyes, postman's satchel, peaked cap, bottom-rolled pants, and bicycling antics. The story goes that Tati is a postal bike courier named Francois who must maintain his route despite the pressure of modernization, and the distractions of the local bar. With a hint of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, Tati's performance was hilarious, especially the classic run-away bike scene, and I wanted to see more.

While enjoying the French ambiance, crepes drizzled in chocolate sauce, and glass of Pernod at Montmartre Cafe (4362 Main St.) I was reminded of this film. The café has a bicycle theme with vintage tricycles dangling from the ceiling and pochoir-style posters of damsels on bikes selling Absinthe. The menu cover happened to be a promo for "Jour de Fete" displaying a caricature of a goofy Tati and bike and I knew that I could track down a copy at Videomatica at West 4th and Burrard.

Recently I succumbed to the fixed-gear bike phenomenon, and even though some may condemn me for being lured by this trend, the switch was inevitable. My Apollo ten-speed was slowly deteriorating since only the front brake worked, two out of the ten gears were functional, and the back wheel was nabbed by a thief in the night. The bike was destined to be a fixie, I even dubbed her "Destiny's Child" in an attempt to be witty, and with the help of some friends the conversion was quickly made. Despite a bail within the first few seconds of riding I persevered in my struggle to break all coasting habits and arrived at Videomatica to rent the film and celebrate my accomplishment.

Once again Francois is delivering the mail via his favourite form of transportation in his quaint country town. This time he is tricked by a mockumentary being screened at the carnival of the U.S. postal system, performed by stunts-men. Tati takes the images very seriously and tries to innovate his courier techniques and the results are very funny. I was inspired to get back on my bike knowing that I would make Jacques Tati proud. And yet, I won't be removing my brake like a hardcore fixie-rider anytime soon just in case I happen upon an unexpected herd of French milking cows in the road or tourists on roller-blades stumbling along the seawall! It's a beautiful summer in Vancouver, so hop on your bike, explore interesting parts of town and have a sense of humour when you see me plodding along on my new toy because I'll be blasting cars in no time.