Maison de Jour de Fête
The village where Tati filmed, in 1947
An immersive trail on the very square where filming took place, in Sainte-Sévère-sur-Indre. Jacques Tati filmed Jour de fête there during the summer of 1947, with local residents as extras.
This isn't a museum of display cases. It's a staged trail across three rooms, with reconstructed sets, sound archives, filming extracts and effects. You follow François the postman through a 1947 village turned upside down by the arrival of a film crew.
The story of the film is worth the detour on its own. Tati shot it using an experimental colour process, Thomsoncolor. As a precaution, he had the entire shoot duplicated in black and white. It was just as well: Thomson never managed to produce the colour prints. The film was released in black and white in 1949.
It took until 1995, and the work of Sophie Tatischeff, his daughter and editor, for Jour de fête to finally be seen in its intended colours. Forty-six years later.
About seventy minutes. Eight euros. Open from April to early November. There's also a vintage carousel and a trail through the village.