Janus FilmsDirected by Jacques Tati
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Criterion Collection)
Tati's M. Hulot goes on an absurd road trip from Paris to an automobile show in Amsterdam. He has designed a "camping car" for his company, which is half station wagon and half tent. The employees load up the car in a large truck and head out to Amsterdam. They never get there, but instead have numerous side tracks as the truck constantly breaks down, or they get in wrecks, get lost, etc. Meanwhile there are some antics at the auto show in Amsterdam as the bored employees deal with having nothing to show. Tati is an acquired taste, a gangly old man who wears his pants too short and garish socks, saying little if anything, part Jerry Lewis and part Benny Hill. As a director, his films are perfectly choreographed, reminiscent of the films of Robert Altman. A highway accident takes place in some strange half-time, cars spinning in place, bumping into each other at 5 mph, the passengers calmly getting out of their vehicles and stretching as if to make sure nothing is broken. If you look closely enough there are usually numerous things happening in the frame, not always the center of the action. However, as a comedy, this film got no laughs from me, so in that respect it was a failure, although it could be attributed to culture differences. It was nonetheless fascinating.
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Criterion Collection)
Tati's M. Hulot goes on an absurd road trip from Paris to an automobile show in Amsterdam. He has designed a "camping car" for his company, which is half station wagon and half tent. The employees load up the car in a large truck and head out to Amsterdam. They never get there, but instead have numerous side tracks as the truck constantly breaks down, or they get in wrecks, get lost, etc. Meanwhile there are some antics at the auto show in Amsterdam as the bored employees deal with having nothing to show. Tati is an acquired taste, a gangly old man who wears his pants too short and garish socks, saying little if anything, part Jerry Lewis and part Benny Hill. As a director, his films are perfectly choreographed, reminiscent of the films of Robert Altman. A highway accident takes place in some strange half-time, cars spinning in place, bumping into each other at 5 mph, the passengers calmly getting out of their vehicles and stretching as if to make sure nothing is broken. If you look closely enough there are usually numerous things happening in the frame, not always the center of the action. However, as a comedy, this film got no laughs from me, so in that respect it was a failure, although it could be attributed to culture differences. It was nonetheless fascinating.
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