philosopherjack Tati's Playtime hardly encourages a deep sense of people as individuals - few of its dozens of characters are even granted a medium shot, let alone a close-up. The movie seems to warn of nothing less than collective obliteration - submersion into mass standardization, into absurd consumerism, into systems and surfaces that can only be stained by human intervention (and of course this is even before the online/social media revolution), into hopeless distance from basic pleasures (embodied by the American visitors to Paris who are kept well away from all its points of differentiation). Looked at a certain way, it can feel overwhelming, and even depressing - Tati's choreography is so staggering, often involving multiple bits of foreground and background action in the same shot, that it hardly seems designed for a human spectator. Of course, this is also at the heart of the film's inexhaustible glory, of its status as one of the most singular of all cinematic masterpieces. And Tati seeds his design with remnants of past humanity or portents of a future one - the sudden appearance of old friends, of mysterious near-doubles, of things that are just funny despite everything. The brilliant extended climax in a restaurant that all but gets destroyed on its opening night speaks to the capacity of collective action for transcending stifling corporate calculation. But it's also plainly a one-off, incapable of shaping the following day for more than a few dreamy early-morning hours. In one of its final gags, the movie posits that a moving window might actually influence the object that's being reflected in it - something that might have seemed like the ultimate loss of control, except that Tati presents it as an elating moment, a promise that all isn't yet heavy and tethered. Least of all, of course, M. Hulot, who returns to the crowd as modestly and mysteriously as he emerged from it.

Cogitoo Jonathan Rosenbaum Like all of the very great comics, before making us laugh, Tati creates a universe. A world arranges itself around his character, crystallizes like a supersaturated solution around a grain of salt. Certainly the character created by Tati is funny, but almost accessorily, and in any case always relative to the universe. He can be personally absent from the most comical gags, for M. Hulot is only the metaphysical incarnation of a disorder that is perpetuated long after his passing.It is regrettable that André Bazin's seminal essay on Jacques Tati ("M. Hulot et le temps," 1953, in Qu'est-ce que Ie cinéma?, vol. I) has been omitted from both volumes of his criticism in English; regrettable, too, that Bazin didn't live to see Tati's masterpiece. To some degree, PLAYTIME can be regarded as an embodiment and extension of Bazin's most cherished Ideas about deep focus, long takes, and the "democratic" freedoms that these techniques offer to the spectator....

souplipton Playtime is an intricately craft and incredibly directed comedy, with hundreds of moving parts in each scene resulting in an abundance of visual gags, often assisted by well timed sound effects. The camera keeps all the characters visible, and the deep focus ensures that we can see all of it at all times. The camera is expertly placed to frame the action in the exact way that is needed to produce the visual gags. Tati also manipulates the audio track, turning down the dialogue and turning up the effects. This guides the audience's attention to ensure that their focus is always where it needs to be in the very busy frame. However, though the film executes the gags perfectly (and should definitely be studied for how to fully utilize the medium for the sake of comedy), the gags are themselves not excessively funny. In some films this would not be the biggest issue, however, Playtime is a film built around these gags. Rarely presenting jokes in dialogue, and having the barest thread of a plot, Playtime has only its gags and its themes about modern life. The negative view of modern life and technology, arguing that they have taken the individuality out of the world, is one which has been presented in hundreds of other works, and is not enough to carry the film. Have nothing more than a banal theme and its plethora of flat (although admittedly well executed) gags, Playtime is an excellent film to study for its formal techniques, but nothing more.

TheFamilyBerzurcher PLAY TIME is a film of astonishing complexity. Tati's performance of this mammoth piece succeeds as both a satire on the absurdity of modern tourism and an unthinkable demonstration of fulfilled imagination. It is famously unwatchable in one sitting. That's not true, but it does yield magnificent insights for those who brave this new Paris.Tati constructs PLAY TIME in unflinching diagonals. Like Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST, from which it clearly takes influence, the film revels in the construction of right angles but is always photographed from a diagonal. This is the source of subtle visual tension which Tati is able to sustain throughout the entire process. It is a touch that renders PLAY TIME with that elusive coherence and consistency usually absent in the presence of absurdity. Another component to the consistency is character. Barbara and Hulot share our curiosity and confusion. We are grounded in their solid construction like we would be in any more conventional narrative. Hulot is the perfect character to take us through this labyrinth. Tati, acting as Hulot, plays both our emotional (Hulot -- curiosity, confusion, exploration) and physical (director -- mise en scene) tour guide. Ultimately, the style is arresting. Angular tension binds with bold consistency to create an entirely watchable film.In addition, Tati out-Altman's Altman years before M*A*S*H made him popular. The sound is layered and marvelous, not unlike the visuals, and just as dense with gags. Primary focal points are invariably covered up. English speaking audiences will be rewarded by numerous auditory jokes in both foreground and buried deep into the background. The visual gags are numerous and often simultaneous. Scenes involve incredibly dense, complex, precise comic choreography. Not unlike Keaton, Tati possesses unshakable artistic control and a belief in the subtle comedy of location.PLAY TIME is an astonishing ballet of cinematic possibilities. One only has to think of someone like Malick to realize that Tati imbues every frame with electricity and spirit while making it look effortless. Is it a perfect film? If not, the accomplishment is nothing short of being, quite literally, an absurd miracle. PLAY TIME is a grand fugue of the cinema with lighthearted subject and angular answer. It is capable of anything -- arresting crescendi, subtle sequencing, revealing comedy, and simple beauty. How Tati managed to fulfill this dream will forever remain an object of fascination and a testament to the potential of genius.98.8 (The highest rating I have yet assigned)