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France, Italy · 1967
1h 55m
Director Jacques Tati
Starring Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden, France Rumilly
Genre Comedy
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Attempting to meet with a business contact, the lovable, clumsy, and old-fashioned Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris, and soon becomes lost in the big city.
Tati is not an active satirist nor does he use slapstick. He has assimilated the greats but is an individual comic talent who builds meticulous gags founded on a gentle, anarchic individualism that is always sympathetic, personal and, above all, funny and constantly inventive.
French actor-filmmaker Jacques Tati’s 1967 masterpiece still holds up as a feast of subtle sight gags, playful noise and, above all, visual wonders.
Slant Magazine by Eric Henderson
With Playtime, Tati made one of the most fully inhabitable films ever.
San Francisco Chronicle by G. Allen Johnson
Playtime is sharp and colorful, and visually makes quite an impression.
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
In this landscape everyone is a tourist, but Tati suggests that once we can find one another, we all belong.
Tati's most elaborate film, Playtime stands as his masterpiece, an awe-inspiring work of intricate choreography with a heart to match its technical expertise.
The New Yorker by Richard Brody
Emotions, identities, and even bodily functions are distorted by the mechanized uniformity, but Tati’s despair is modulated by a sense of wonder.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Instead of plot it has a cascade of incidents, instead of central characters it has a cast of hundreds, instead of being a comedy it is a wondrous act of observation. It occupies no genre and does not create a new one. It is a filmmaker showing us how his mind processes the world around him.
The New York Times by Vincent Canby
Jacques Tati's most brilliant film, a bracing reminder in this all-too-lazy era that films can occasionally achieve the status of art.
The story of a misunderstood adolescent boy growing up in Paris.
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Mr Hulot takes a precious, playful ... and purely premeditated look at modern times...
A singular crime from four different perspectives.
A retired doctor reflects on his life during a long road trip to receive an honorary degree.
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Two separate people. Will they combine into one?
Close friends Jules and Jim both fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.
How is life going to look like if one is always on the run?
The laughs are bumper to bumper!
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