leethomas-11621 The child-like Monsieur Hulot provides some old-fashioned fun for his nephew Gerard who lives with his parents in an ultra-modern home with all the latest impractical mod-cons. I'd love to have seen them climbing their living-room stairs! Another timeless masterpiece from Tati.

lasttimeisaw Jacques Tati's Oscar BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE PICTURE champ, MON ONCLE is his third feature and the first in color, which bestows him a perfect implement to visualize his ingenuity of chromatic outlandishness and architectural brainwave, on top of his already honed-up dexterity in his sui generis comedic bent. The titular uncle, it goes without saying, refers to Tati's alter ego Mr. Hulot, and his nephew is the 9-year old Gérard Arpel (Bécourt), who lives in an eye-catching modern villa (reckoning its time, how incredible it still can sweep new audience off their feet just like that, almost 60 years since its debut) with his parents (Zola and Servant) in Parisian suburb, an outré construction constituted with geometric motifs and glaring color schemes, later in the movie, against a nocturnal background, the house resembles a giant robot with round eyes where two eyeballs bob up intermittently to check the noise Mr. Hulot makes. Its garden is divided into pockets of different colors (green lawns, pink and yellow sands etc.), adorned by stepping stones (definitely not suitable for walking), and in the center there is a fish- shaped fountain would become an ineffable running gag because Ms. Arpel would only switch it on when there are visitors, neither for her own kin, aka. her brother Mr. Hulot, nor a fruit vendor. Equipped with an über-modern kitchen, where everything is run by either a button (e.g. to flip the steak) or automatic sensors (the cupboard conundrum stymies Mr. Hulot), the house permeates with a middle-class complacency borne out of the industrial wealth. Whereas for Mr. Hulot, he lives, in company with other households, in a slightly decrepit building which has its own idiosyncratic attribute, the building's windows, staircases and landings are entwined in an unconventionally genius layout, fashioned by Jacques Lagrange (as one of the key artistic collaborators), it is absolutely an apotheosis (along with the villa) in the strand of contemporary production design. Same can be extolled to costume designer Jacques Cottin, whose creation tallies with the film's startling color and geometric pattern and whimsically fleshes out a farcical tinge of bourgeois wackiness, a scrumptious grace note is the middle-aged neighbor (Marie), whose grandiose appearances in bamboo hat and later as a"carpet" are simply divine to gawp. The satire of preferring superficiality and technology to utility is very much on the nose, and indeed that is why Tati's work is so admirably pellucid in reflecting his own frame-of-mind, it is a light comedy, the plot and dialogue barely exist, Mr. Hulot is perpetually the oddball finds himself difficult to fit in anywhere, yet the film is anything but frothy, each and every vignette is punctiliously devised to perfection under a good-natured timbre with wry humor, in the end, it is the familial bond that matters, a boy finds a similar vibe with his priggish father while seeing off his favorite uncle at the station, the ending anticipates Tati's next pièce de résistance PLAYTIME (1967). A high priest of post-modernism, Tati's legacy in cinema cannot be more overstated in his absolute talent in balancing quotidian absurdity with a high-end conception which stands out as a universe of its own, a virtuoso cinematic comedian-starchitect first and foremost, Tati takes up the baton of those eminent names before him like Lumière Brothers, Keaton and Chaplin, and arguably he has gone further and bolder.

Jackson Booth-Millard I knew about this French film when I saw it listed in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, I knew the title translated was "My Uncle", and I later found out it was the follow up to Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, from returning director Jacques Tati (Playtime). Basically Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) is the adored uncle of nine year old Gerard Arpel (Alain Bécourt), the nephew lives with his parents Charles (Jean-Pierre Zola) and Madame Arpel (Adrienne Servantie) in an automated and convenience filled ultra-modern house, which includes a fish fountain in the yard that must be turned on whenever important guests visit. Monsieur Hulot meanwhile lives in a smallish flat in an old building in an old neighbourhood, it may not be high in standard, but Gerard prefers to spend more time there, as her own house is not all that child friendly, the Arpels may be trying to mold M. Hulot more into the person they are used to in the upper class world. Charles offers his brother-in-law a job in the factory where plastics are manufactured, and Madame Arpel hosts a garden party, inviting him and trying to impress a few guests with her fountain and impressive home, but the bumbling nature of M. Hulot causes problems for their plan, but he may in fact help them in some way. Also starring Lucien Frégis as Monsieur Pichard Betty Schneider as Betty, Landlord's Daughter, Yvonne Arnaud as Georgette, the Housekeeper, Dominique Marie as Neighbour, Jean-François Martial as Walter and Adelaide Danieli as Madame Pichard. I will be honest and say that I didn't see much of a story going on, but I know that Tati gave a good performance as the nice guy that is clumsy, I did giggle at the obvious moments, like the water fountain being meddled with, and the luxurious setting looked cool and colourful, so it is a fun and watchable satirical comedy. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!

random_avenger Mr. Hulot (director Tati) lives in an old-fashioned and disorganized neighbourhood where people still travel by horse and cart and dogs can roam free on the streets. He frequently pays visits to his sister's family, the Arpels, who live in an ultra-modern urban house where everything is geometrical, empty and pretty uninhabitable. The family's young son Gérard (Alain Bécourt) likes Hulot, but the parents (Jean-Pierre Zola and Adrienne Servantie) insist his carefree lifestyle is not acceptable and try to hook him up with their uptight neighbour (Dominique Marie) and get him a job at a plastic factory, with catastrophic consequences.The comedic genre allows delicious exaggeration of the contrast between the two neighbourhoods. The pacing is slow and the long runtime allows a lot of focus to be put on small details that are often ignored as self-evident: the complexity of modern kitchen appliances, the tap-walking secretary at the factory, the stepping stones on the Arpels' yard, the pedalled lawnmower, the "eyes" of the house... On the other hand, the antics of Gérard's friends in Hulots's neighbourhood are presented as joyful and unpredictable, like tricking passers-by to walk into lampposts or enjoying the aftermaths of fender-benders that never really happened after all. Hulot and the other adults also have time to enjoy themselves by sitting in cafés and chatting with the easily distracted street cleaner.Even though there is a lot of dialogue in some scenes, Hulot stays silent throughout and maintains an unhurried attitude which is the best way to approach the film too. The sets, music, sound effects, props and other details are all carefully designed to fit the style and provide plenty to enjoy for a viewer that doesn't expect to be force-fed jokes every second. Even though at almost two hours Mon oncle may feel unnecessarily long at points, it is ultimately a rewarding experience. Personally I like it more than Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953), so I recommend giving it a chance even if you're not sure if Tati's calm style is for you. Fans of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character may also want to check the film out, as Tati's influence on Bean is immense.