Playtime (1967)

Playtime
Directed by Jacques Tati
Written by Jacques Tati and Jacques Lagrange
1967/France
Specta Films/Jolly Film
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] [on Playtime] The images are designed so that after you see the picture two or three times, it’s no longer my film, it starts to be your film. You recognize the people, you know them, and you don’t even know who directed the picture. — Jacques Tati[/box]

Since the days of Mon Oncle (1958), Paris has become one huge mid-century modernist nightmare that might have been designed by Hulot’s crazy sister.  The chairs are torture devices, all the buildings are dominated by plate glass windows that destroy privacy, and the people spend their money on the useless gizmos relentlessly advertised.

It might as well be a distant planet for the hapless Hulot, who innocently continues to create chaos wherever he goes.  At the same time, an American tourist searches for her version of the city without finding it.  Somehow human connection triumphs after all.

This movie has so much going on that I think you could see it 50 times without catching all the gags, many of which are occurring simulateously on the packed screen.  I laughed out loud many times.  The art direction is spectacular.  Somehow I prefer the more intimate earlier films but if you’ve already seen them, this remains a must see

Re-issue trailer