Trafic - Criterion Collection
by Jacques Tati
from Criterion
M. Hulot's Holiday - Criterion Collection
from Criterion
Forefather of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean, Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot--a recurring character in several of his movies--is a blithely clumsy troublemaker, an insouciant twit who leaves uproar in his wake without being aware of it. Trying to describe this 1953 comedy is next to impossible except to say it is a series of vignettes at a vacation resort, with the distracted Hulot providing a lot of laughs. Tati directs, and in a way what that really means is that he composes this movie with a perfect eye and ear for the comic possibilities in everything: composition, lighting, minimal marble-mouth dialogue, certain sounds (a duck call, a door repeatedly opening and shutting). This is a superior work that ranks among all-time classic comedies. --Tom Keogh
Pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati's endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati's wildly funny satire of vacationers determined to enjoy themselves includes a series of precisely choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats and firecrackers. The first entry in the Hulot series is a masterpiece of gentle slapstick.
Mon Oncle - Criterion Collection
from Criterion
A comic masterpiece from director-star Jacques Tati (Playtime, Traffic), this 1958 film--Tati's first in color--reprises the carefree, oblivious title character from the director's hilarious international hit Mr. Hulot's Holiday. This time, the story finds Hulot, a self-involved twit on a constant collision with the physical world, grappling with 1950s-style progress. Visiting his sister and brother-in-law in their ultra-progressive household full of noisy gadgets and futuristic decor, Hulot inevitably has dust-ups with modernity, each one exceptionally funny. Taking a page from Buster Keaton's playbook, Tati also employs his trademark techniques with sound and production design to achieve the indefinable, comic genius of his films: the rhythmic clacking of footsteps, the cartoon-panel distance of his camera frame from the heart of the action. (Why are funny things funnier when seen from a few extra feet away?) Tati is one of the cinema's great treasures, and this movie is unforgettable. --Tom Keogh
Slapstick prevails when Jacques Tati's eccentric hero Monsieur Hulot is let loose in the ultramodern house of his brother-in-law, and in an antiseptic factory that manufactures plastic hose. Tati directs and stars in the second entry of the Hulot series, a delightful satire of mechanized living. Academy Award winner, Best Foreign Film.
Devil In The Flesh (1946-France)
With MICHELINE PRESLE, GERARD PHILIPE. Directed by CLAUDE AUTANT LARA. Back in the 1950s, Gerard Philipe was one of the hottest actors in French cinema. Sadly, he was soon dead of a heart attack at the age of 36. Nonetheless, his talent shines through brightly in this, the film which made him an international star. The time is the last days of World War I and Philipe plays Francois, a high school student whose interests are way beyond girls his own age. Francois becomes instantly smitten with Martha, an older woman who arrives in town to assist her mother as a nurse at the hospital which is next door to Francois school. Soldiers who have been wounded in battle are brought to this hospital directly from the front. As Francois and his classmates observe them, they are well aware that if the war continues, they too will soon be finding themselves among the wounded and the dead. At the same time, Francois zealously pursues the sensitive and tenderhearted Martha, even though she is engaged to marry a soldier. The boy does not let up even after Martha marries her fianc and he returns to battle. The story follows the evolving relationship between Francois and Martha and the result is an impassioned and deeply felt love story, a classic tale of tangled emotions and heartbreak. Because they place their feelings above all else, are Francois and Martha weak and selfish? Or should they be commended for attempting to cling to love in time of war and chaos? You decide. The story was re-made in 1987 as an X-rated, non-pornographic film, but was not nearly as moving as this version. Look for JACQUES TATI in a bit part as a soldier! One of the many highlights is a sensuous love scene by a fireplace, which director Claude Autant Lara partially repeats near the films finale - but for an entirely different effect! Dubbed in English. 121 minutes.
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