Reviews of Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) and related work

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953Moving picture, 83 minutes)

moving picture fiction

Mon Oncle (1958Moving picture, 117 minutes)

Not exactly subtle.

References here: The Illusionist (2010).

moving picture sequel fiction

Playtime (1967Moving picture, 115 minutes)

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.

moving picture sequel fiction

Trafic (1971Moving picture, 96 minutes)

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).

moving picture sequel fiction

The Illusionist (2010Moving picture, 80 minutes)

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.

moving picture spin-off animation fiction