Like Keaton before him, Tati devised gags of such sheer intricacy as to prove on occasion just too beautiful to be laughed at. In this, his first feature, an almost plotless tale of a village postman’s endeavours to streamline his service a l’americaine is enhanced by a radiographic vision of rural minutiae which one might call hyper-realist. As for Tati the performer, he makes cycling along a tranquil country lane as spellbinding as if it were taking place on a high wire.