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IMDb RATING

7.8/10

27K

YOUR RATING

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Slapstick Comedy

Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still ... Read allMonsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

27K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 1 nomination

Trivia
The elaborate set of Tativille had its own roads, electrical systems and - in one of the office buildings - a fully working elevator.

Goofs
The escalator handrails aren't moving in the airport scene. The actors skim their hands along pretending it's moving, when you can see by reflections of its surface that it is indeed not.

Quotes
Barbara, Young Tourist: How do you say "drugstore" in French?
Monsieur Hulot: Drugstore.

Crazy credits
The title isn't shown until the end of the opening credits. Additionally, there are no end credits. The final shot simply fades out and there is about a minute of exit music.

Alternate versions
The first cut of the film ran 155 minutes with intermission and exit music. This version, which ran for six months, was edited down by Tati himself to 135 minutes based on audience reactions. It was released on 70 mm with 6-Track sound. In the US the film was released with a running time of 93 min. and 1-Track mono sound. Other versions ran between 108-120 min. and were released on 35 mm with 4-Track Stereo sound (quadraphonic). When the film was re-released in France of 1978, cinemas refused to screen the film if it was over two hours long so Tati edited it down to 119 minutes. In 2002 the film was restored a length of 124 minutes based on two surviving copies of the 135 minute cut. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and is the version that is widely available since.

Connections
Edited into Damned! Daney (1991)

Soundtracks
L'Opéra des Jours Heureux
Music by Francis Lemarque
Lyrics by Francis Lemarque
Performed by Francis Lemarque

User reviews107

Review

Featured review

9/10

In the tradition of silent comedy

This is the first Tati film I've seen, but I've heard quite a lot about him. I saw the 70mm reprint with high expectations and was not disappointed.

This is a movie that leads the viewer where it feels like going. It has it's own rhythm and path. Just as circumstance beyond Mr. Hulot's control takes him wherever he may go, the camera seems to follow the same kind of path. The viewer doesn't know where it's going, and the viewer doesn't know where exactly it wants to go. The great thing about this movie is that it doesn't follow Mr. Hulot exclusively. The camera behaves the same way without needing to follow Mr. Hulot. He moves where he goes, the tour group moves where they go, and the camera moves where it may go. The world around them and the viewer dicates it in the most unconscious kind of way.

The first part of the movie is a satire on the inhuman world we've built around us. Mr. Hulot tries to navigate it, but the world won't sit still. Everything moves around without him and he can't find anything. Just like he is moved around, so is the object of his desire, whatever it may be at the moment. But Mr. Hulot doesn't mind, he goes along with it and enjoys it all the way, just like the viewer.

In another Tati movie, Mr. Hulot's Vacation, there is a scene where he's resting on a beach, and his drink floats away with a wave and floats back just as he reaches for it. That's how this movie is. Everything might not exactly go as people hope or plan, but it goes it's own way. Not everything goes as planned, but Mr. Hulot accepts it and so does the viewer. Rather than fight the world around him and force it to do what it wants, he takes joy in looking around and enjoying the ride, and what makes the movie so great is that so does the viewer. You might not know where things are going, but they do what they will and you enjoy watching things unfold.