On demande une brute, or Brute Wanted, is a very early Jacques Tati short that only slightly hints at the genius to come. But it has its brief pleasures. Tati wrote the script and stars as a bumbling actor who is mistakenly “cast” as the challenger in an all-too-real wrestling match. For a 23-minute effort, the setup takes far too long, while some of the sight gags are simplistic or forced. Yet Tati has an undeniably comic screen presence. Towering over everyone else, yet thin as a rail, he leans into rooms like a chopped tree that might tip over at any moment. In the ring, he’s something of a plastic man, ridiculously twisting and bending beneath the arms of his opponent (Kola Kwariani). Of course the key to all of this—which would be preserved in his beloved Monsieur Hulot character—is that he teeters through the proceedings with utter obliviousness. This guy might not have even realized he was in a wrestling match until it was all over.
