Parade

An eccentric slice of light entertainment ring-mastered by Tati. He contributes a couple of superlative mime routines, and even briefly resurrects Hulot as a klutzy angler battling with slippery fish and a folding stool. But the show, and its host, are not the main thing. Les clowns, c'est vous announces Tati: contributions from the floor are invited and (thanks to judicious plants) are forthcoming, with scuffles erupting in the orchestra, a hatcheck girl surrounded by crash helmets, and a myriad other behind-the-scenes incongruities and calamities. This was Tati's valediction, made for Swedish TV the year he went bankrupt. Shot live, and on video, it can't aspire to the meticulous mise en scène of his big screen work; and one feels saddened that this great director should have found no other outlet for his genius.