Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jacques Tati

Writers:

Henri Marquet (dialogue)
Henri Marquet (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 June 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's laugh-vacation time as Jacques Tati romps through the most gloriously mad lark ever to tickle the ribs of young and old alike!

Plot:

Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Seaside | Vacation | Holiday | Brittany

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jacques Tati	...	Monsieur Hulot
Nathalie Pascaud	...	Martine
Micheline Rolla	...	The Aunt (as Michèle Rolla)
Valentine Camax	...	Englishwoman
Louis Perrault	...	Fred
André Dubois	...	Commandant
Lucien Frégis	...	Hotel Proprietor (as Lucien Fregis)
Raymond Carl	...	Waiter
René Lacourt	...	Strolling Man
Marguerite Gérard	...	Strolling Woman

Also Known As:

M. Hulot's Holiday (Australia)
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (UK)
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (USA)

Runtime:

114 min | Singapore:96 min | Sweden:95 min | USA:83 min | Finland:100 min (1955)

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/6 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Hotel de la Plage - 37 rue Commandant Charcot, Saint-Marc-sur-Mer, Loire-Atlantique, France

Company:

Discina Film

Trivia:

In English version, Christopher Lee dubbed the entire film.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The Englishwoman declares Hulot winner of the tennis games after 3 points. A game is won by the first player to win 4 points.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

Gorgeous

Tati is simply one of the foremost artists of the cinema. I wish I had discovered him sooner. M. Hulot's Holiday was the second feature film he directed after Jour de fete (unavailable in America at the present time). It was also the first of the Hulot series, introducing us to one of the best and most endearing characters cinephiles are ever likely to meet: M. Hulot.

However, no matter how endearing Hulot is, make sure you don't come into a film like M. Hulot's Holiday expecting a laugh riot. This particular film is not (although Mon Oncle, if you're perceptive enough, is). The comedy here, although there are some hilarious moments, puts most of its trust in slow build-ups and extraordinary cleverness. This film is an attempt to make comedy beautiful, and it succeeds oh so well. You will love all the characters, and, as the week draws to a close, you may feel sad. Although at this point I like Mon Oncle more than M. Hulot's Holiday (I have seen Mon Oncle 3 times and Holiday only once), this one is still a masterpiece, of mood if not for anything else. 10/10.