Mr. Hulot's Holiday(1953)
Mon Oncle (1958)
Play Time (1967)
Following in the footsteps of comedic geniuses like Chaplin and Keaton, Jacques Tati writes, directs, and stars in a trilogy following a clumsy character named Monsieur Hulot. Hulot is a joyful, care free character that means well but happens to always get himself into troubling situations that he must (through silly gag comedy) get himself out of. Tati's comedic style is similar to that of Chaplin's, but I would argue that it lacks the same level of effectiveness and humor Chaplin was able to create.
The trilogy begins with Mr. Hulot's Holiday, a film with little to no dialogue and would be almost silent if it wasn’t for the cheesy score and sound effects. Hulot decides to go on vacation to a beach resort/hotel and this is where the supposed "hilarity" ensues. With the plot lacking any real follow-able direction the film turns in to a gag real made of randomly strung together scenes that attempt humor that feels too forced and poorly executed. I chuckled probably two or three times during the entire duration of the film and found it to be the worst of the three. It baffles me that this film was nominated for an Oscar, but what’s more absurd is that the sequel following it; Mon Oncle, won one. In Mon Oncle Hulot returns from vacation to find that his nephew and brother in law live a modern home full of state of the art devices and gadgets. Hulot being not fond of this discovers common ground with his nephew who also has a dislike for the gadgetry that his father has installed in the house. To avoid Hulot influencing his son, Hulot’s brother in law gets him to work at a factory that he happens to run; this is where the "hilarity" ensues. The gags are strenuous, dragged out, and extremely repetitive which made the film hard to get through in one sitting, but I managed. Though Mon Oncle was visually better and slightly funnier I still feel its grossly over-rated. The third and final film in the trilogy; Play Time, follows Hulot while he aimlessly wanders around a technologically modernized Paris with a bunch of American Tourists and this is where (you guessed it) the "hilarity" ensues. Like the two prior films, the clumsy moron known as Hulot causes chaos by painfully engaging in (repetitive) gag after (repetitive) gag. Although equally as tiresome as the previous films, I must admit it is the most technically well done and the most beautiful of the trilogy.
My view on the trilogy may seem harsh but I just could not bring myself to understand the reason why they are considered unrivaled Masterpieces by much of the film community. I did however like the way Tati took the “Anti-Technological” approach in the films, I thought that was interesting and original but besides that, maybe I’m missing something? Maybe they went over my head? Maybe I need to watch them more than once? I'm not sure, but if I do and in some sort of epiphany my opinion changes, I will re-review them.
IMDB:***** 5/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5
IMDB:****** 6/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5
IMDB:****** 6/10
NETFLIX:** 2/5
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