Opinion on Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) and related work
- Sequel: Mon Oncle (1958)
- Sequel: Playtime (1967)
- Sequel: Trafic (1971)
- Spin-off: The Illusionist (2010)
Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953
)
‣ Mon Oncle (1958)
Not exactly subtle.
References here: The Illusionist (2010).
‣ Playtime (1967)
Review refers to a two-hour cut on TV.
A betrayal of its title, if nothing else. While technically and intellectually impressive, it certainly isn’t playful, nor insightful, beautiful, or funny.
‣ Trafic (1971)
Seen in 2022.
Monsieur Hulot designs cars and accompanies a party from his automaker employer to exhibit a new “camping car” in Amsterdam.
Here is the playfulness I was missing in Playtime.
References here: “The Dog Who Loved Music” (1973).
‣ The Illusionist (2010)
Seen in 2017.
Mon Oncle (1958) is directly quoted, but the character written by, modelled after and named after Jacques Tati (who was born Tatischeff) is not Hulot. As with The Triplets of Belleville (2003), the backgrounds, animation and detail work are excellent and the story is poor. Alice goes from gullible ingenue to trendy materialist without developing any greater depth or personality. Her love story appears to hinge pathetically on her altered appearance. The simultaneous economic failure of all the talented traditional performers, including a literal sad clown, is an enactment of stereotypes about French art film, and as such it falls flat.