After taking a seasonal reprieve ourselves, we return with a lighthearted examination of Jacques Tati’s famous comic outing which catapulted the indelible image of his beloved Monsieur Hulot character into the public sphere. Tati goes bananas in Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, a beach-themed comedy delight which sees Tati and his famously fumbling character get up to many antics while trying to relax on the beautiful French seaside. Hulot is a fully realized and expressive character in this first venture: curious and clumsy, chaotic but not destructive, and overall warm and endearing. His personality is a constant delight, mixing together the performative creativity of Tati’s ingenious physicality and the cinematic tool of conscious sound design to build upon what similar vaudevillian artists had so exquisitely defined in the heights of the silent era. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday is a dreamy getaway in its own right; a pastoral portrait of a captivating locale with the relaxing and humorous qualities of Tati’s captivating titular character carrying us through each memorable scene and story along the way.

Timestamps:
0:00: Review of the U.S. Election
19:18: DOC NYC 2020 Festival
30:48: California Dreamin’ & Campin’
37:50: Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday

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