Watch Your Left, or Soigne ton gauche, is a 13-minute short consisting of little more than Jacques Tati as a daydreaming farmer who finds himself somewhat reluctantly in the ring with a boxer (Louis Robur). The simple setup is part of the charm, however, as is the near-balletic, slapstick choreography it takes to position the farmer—through no cleverness of his own—as the winner. Outside of the ring, Max Martel impressively pratfalls as the village postman (presaging the bumbling postman Tati would play in Jour de Fete) and there is a clever meta element involving the children who “film” the proceedings using camera rigs made out of wood blocks. Also notable: this is one of the first directorial efforts of French mainstay Rene Clement (Forbidden Games, Purple Noon).
