Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot)
Directed by Jacques Tati
Written by Jacques Tati and Henri Marquet
1953/France
Discina Film/Cady Films/Soecta Films
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#267 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Opening Titles: Mr. Hulot is off for a week by the sea. Take a seat behind his camera, and you can spend it with him. Don’t look for a plot, for a holiday is meant purely for fun, and if you look for it, you will find more fun in ordinary life than in fiction.[/box]
Monsieur Hulot drives his rattletrap car to a French seaside resort. There he mingles with his fellow guests at a bourgeois seaside hotel. Oblivious to everything, he manages to create chaos wherever he happens to wander.
I like Tati’s films quite a bit. This first Monsieur Hulot film kicks off the series admirably. There is no plot or dialogue to speak of. The sight gags and sound effects come so fast and furious that one hardly misses them. You can watch these films any number of times without feeling like you have caught everything. I like that Hulot retains his dignity while all are losing theirs. I also like the score very much. Recommended.
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.
Trailer – subtitles unnecessary!
This is my favorite of Tati’s films that I’ve seen. There’s such a wonderful joy in the way Hulot lives his life and in the chaos that happens around him.
Love the soundtrack, too!
This is the second time I’ve seen this one and I liked it even more than the first time. I’ll have to see if Mon Oncle remains my favorite. I get quite a kick over the contrast between Hulot and that crazy modern house.
Hulot’s Holiday was a lot better than I expected and while he owes a lot to Chaplins pseudo-sound films Tati manages to make this one his own. You are reminding me that I have to watch it again and soon.
It is probably infinitely rewatchable. I’m still feeling the glow of my last viewing.