Playtime (1967)

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Playtime (1967)
Topic Started: Aug 22 2009, 10:59 AM (51 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Aug 22 2009, 10:59 AM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,067 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	M. Hulot is in Paris for a business meeting; he gets lost amidst the maze of steel & glass skycrapers and attends an international exposition, visits an old Army buddy who lives in a glass house, spends an evening at the grand opening of a ritzy new restaurant that is disintegrating around the patrons, and then watches the morning traffic turn into a carnival. Wow. One of the most amazing films I've ever seen; Jacque Tati built huge sets to mimic the Modern Times look of sterile architecture of the day (and bankrupted himself in the process) and shot the film in 70mm grandeur. Hulot is a minor character here; there are several "false Hulots" that pop up from time to time. No real plot here, just a series of running gags. Yes, it's an artistic film and unusual and there will be scenes that you'll enjoy just because they're so odd and clever, but the bottom line with a comedy is, how funny is it? The answer in this case is VERY; I laughed all the way through the 125 minutes of this impressive film. Fave gags: throughout the film, you'll see hanging in the background a series of travel posters extolling the benefits of visiting Tokyo, Stockholm, New York, Mexico City, etc., all showing the exact same building. Also, there's a sequence in which Hulot breaks a glass door, leaving the doorman to spend the rest of the film holding up the door knob and pretending there's a door to open. The restaurant/night club scene takes up half the picture, and is a magnificent comic set piece as the restaurant falls down around the patrons and the clueless staff tries to cope. Hard to describe the film; there's so much going on, so many little throw-away sight gags, so much of wondering who all these people are and whether they're people we've seen before or are going to see again (I don't think there are are close-ups in the film)... a great comedy. And lest you forget: very funny.



CliffClaven	Aug 23 2009, 12:31 AM Post #2
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 229 Group: Members Member #712 Joined: March 30, 2009	I have the Playtime DVD with Terry Jones and some interesting academic extras; still waiting for a night when I'm sure the phone won't ring (I've yet to make it an hour in without interruption). I've seen Mr. Hulot's Holiday and Mon Oncle; both are very appealing. One of the touches I found intriguing in Mr. Hulot's Holiday was the way Tati presented The Girl. He makes a point of showing her behaving naturally with people her own age between her little moments with Hulot, undercutting any romance. She only relates to him as company on official holiday recreations. Hulot himself doesn't seem to entertain any serious thoughts beyond the same. Chaplin might make such a girl break the little tramp's heart; others would go ahead and present a romance of a clown and a young beauty. But not Tati. At the end there's no poignant parting; he simply misses her at a party and lets it go at that, evidently more depressed that the holiday itself is ending and that his standing with the other guests is somewhat mixed (the henpecked man and the British lady seem to like him; others are less amiable). The Girl doesn't seem to notice he's missing. At best, she seemed to symbolize a kindred spirit trying to do a vacation "properly" -- although, very unlike Hulot, she remained firmly grounded in the real world between costume parties and horse rides. As for My Uncle, I love the mother who scurries to turn the fountain on when guests ring the bell. I think of that when when people put out those inflatable holiday decorations. During the day the leaf blowers are generally off, leaving what looks like a melted Santa or whatever on their lawns until guests are expected or the neighbors turn on their colored lights.


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