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
I have a category called “Greatest Movies I’ve Only Seen Once” and Playtime is up there in the Top Five with El Topo and Cat Ballou and Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Ikiru. I just have never gotten around to seeing them a second time.
It was my first Tati movie, by the way. They were showing it at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood, and I decided to go on a whim … with a date! A smart girl, but not a particularly well-rounded cinephile. It blew her mind! She kept saying “What was THAT? Are there more movies like THAT? Do I want to see them? Please warn me the next time you want to see something like THAT!”
I gather you didn’t marry her?
I think Cat Ballou hasn’t aged particularly well. Haven’t rewatched El Topo myself. The others just keep getting better.
It is a must see indeed.
The chaos in the restaurant is indescribable.
How did you find the issue that there is practically no plot?
I think a plot would have helped this one. There’s no particular focus ever. I prefer the earlier films for that reason. But you can’t deny that this is full out Tati and that makes it a must see.
It is weird, when I try to search for David Holzman’s diary I am told that sender is blacklisted and nothing shows up. What have you been doing, Bea?
Nothing that couldn’t appear on the first page of a newspaper! Strange. Does my site come up correctly? Is it me or you that is blacklisted? Wouldn’t want to miss a single comment?
I can see your blog and the latest post, but when I use the search function on your page it goes blank and the page tab is called “Forbidden. Sender blacklisted”.
What in the world? Can you get it through this link? David Holzman’s Diary (1967)