Playtime (1967)

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.

Director:

Jacques Tati

Writers:

Jacques Tati (original screenplay), Jacques Lagrange (collaboration)

Stars:

Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Dennek	...	Barbara, Young Tourist
Jacques Tati	...	Monsieur Hulot
Rita Maiden	...	Mr. Schultz's Companion (as Rita Maïden)
France Rumilly	...	Woman Selling Eyeglasses
France Delahalle	...	Shopper in Department Store
Valérie Camille	...	Mr. Lacs's Secretary
Erika Dentzler	...	Mme. Giffard
Nicole Ray	...	Singer
Yvette Ducreux	...	Hat Check Girl
Nathalie Jem
Jacqueline Lecomte	...	Young Tourist's Friend
Oliva Poli
Alice Field
Sophie Wennek
Evy Cavallaro

Storyline

Monsieur Hulot has to contact an American official in Paris, but he gets lost in the maze of modern architecture which is filled with the latest technical gadgets. Caught in the tourist invasion, Hulot roams around Paris with a group of American tourists, causing chaos in his usual manner.

---

Plot Keywords:

tourist | conformity | nonconformity | merry go round | traffic circle | 

---

Taglines:

An incomparable spectacle.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

27 June 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playtime

Filming Locations:

Joinville, Haute-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Specta Films,Jolly Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min (with intermission and exit music) 124 min (2002 restored)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) (restored version) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The climactic restaurant scene lasts for 45 minutes.

---

Goofs

The escalator handrails aren't moving in the fist department store scene. You can see the actors skimming their hands along, pretending it's moving when you can see by reflections of its surface, it is indeed not.

---

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

For international markets Jacques Tati created a second soundtrack where some of the French lines were dubbed in English.

---

Connections

Referenced in Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

User Reviews

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.