Tati’s Right-Hand Man

There’s a cornucopia for Tati fans over at Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell’s blog, Observations on Film Art and  Film Art. In a new entry, Thompson spotlights painter Jacques Lagrange, a somewhat unsung collaborator on all of Jacques Tati’s films, who not only came up with designs and sketches for elaborate sets (like the beach cabins in M. Hulot’s Holiday, the modern house in Mon oncle, and the cityscapes of Playtime) but also sometimes provided Tati with ideas for visual jokes. Most enticingly, Thompson provides a whole parade of Lagrange’s original drawings and artwork, including one for a gag that didn’t make it into Playtime.