Forza Bastia 78 oder Festtag auf der Insel

Jacques Tati's last film was made at the request of Gilberti Trigano, founder of the local football team, to make a documentary of the finals between local team, the Bastia Blues, against the Windhoven team. He shot it and was editing it when he died. The film remained undiscovered until about 2000, when his daughter, film editor Sophie Tatischeff, found it and finished up the job.

It's a recording of the raucous fans, the noise, confusion, and the match on a rain-soaked field. Like most of Tati's works, it is a humorous work, but one that finds its humor in observing the foibles of people as they really are..

This was Tati's last film attempt and, for decades, it curiously remained lost, much like his first film, "Oscar, champion de tenis". In 1978, the relatively obscure Italian football team, Bastia, made it to a first-time finals of the Champion's League, against PSV Eindhoven. Tati was asked by fellow friend, and club Mediterrané founder, Gilberto Trigano, to document the final match in Italy.

The film is still somewhat tati-esquire, and concentrates itself more on the outside fiesta of the town's people and nuances of the general euphoria than the game itself, which was actually interrupted by a strong rain that left a mud-covered field. But it was considered a failure, and kept at storage until the director's daughter, Sophie Tatischeff, finished and edited it in 2001, and the different artistic views are easily noticed throughout the picture.

A worth-watching film, if you can find it, as are all Tati films; do so with some regards tough, as if you expect it to wear Playtime's shoes, you'll be widely disappointed. It's still much better than Cours du Soir, at least...