100
CineVue
Tati’s second film, Les Vacances de M. Hulot sees the birth of the everlasting character of Monsieur Hulot, he of the trademark pipe and umbrella.
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot)
Critic Rating
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- France
- 1953
- · 87m
Director
Jacques Tati
Cast
Jacques Tati,
Nathalie Pascaud,
Micheline Rolla,
Louis Perrault,
Valentine Camax,
André Dubois
Genre
Comedy
The first appearance of Jacques Tati’s famous character Monsieur Hulot, as we accompany him on a summer vacation to a packed seaside resort. As the patrons of the resort attempt to relax, the bumbling Hulot proves a powerful disturbance to the idyllic calm of the beach, wreaking havoc everywhere he goes.
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What are critics saying?
100
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Tati's fabulous comedy about a bumbling French vacationer in Brittany -- the first appearance of his hilarious pipe-smoking alter-ego Hulot -- is almost a silent movie done in sound, with spare dialogue, affectionate characterizations, sunny beach scenes and complex sight gags that recall the genius of Chaplin and Keaton. [19 Dec 1997, p.T]
100
Chicago Reader by Dave Kehr
Jacques Tati’s 1953 masterpiece features some of the funniest and loveliest slapstick imaginable, yet it is also a work of impressive formal innovation, casting off the tyranny of a plotline in favor of loosely associated tones, episodes, and images.
100
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
The movie is perfectly composed with a light touch that is the work of a certain kind of gravity and sophistication.
100
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
It is not a comedy of hilarity but a comedy of memory, nostalgia, fondness and good cheer. There are some real laughs in it, but “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” gives us something rarer, an amused affection for human nature–so odd, so valuable, so particular.
100
CineVue by Edward Frost
Tati’s second film, Les Vacances de M. Hulot sees the birth of the everlasting character of Monsieur Hulot, he of the trademark pipe and umbrella.
100
Portland Oregonian by Shawn Levy
A masterful treasure trove of hilarious gags and inventive moments. It's so good that a single viewing it might awaken you to the charm of snails, frogs legs and -- heaven help us -- Jerry Lewis. [14 Jul 1995, p.E01]
100
Slant Magazine by Clayton Dillard
Tati biographer David Bellos called 1953’s Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday “Tati’s most perfect film,” and in many ways, it’s difficult to disagree with this sentiment in terms of tone and form.
90
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
With its inspired sight gags and comic mishaps, the deceptively artless-seeming "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" is as blissful as a sunny day at the beach. [02 Feb 1995, p.F4]
80
Variety
Though not as funny as Fete, due to a lesser story peg, this one generates a load of yocks, with fine observation of types at a vacation resort.
80
TV Guide Magazine
With very little dialogue and a creative use of sound, Tati (the actor and director) gives us an entirely new way of looking at a very familiar landscape.
80
Empire by David Parkinson
A magnificent comic performance and a film of genial hilarity.
80
BBC
Widely regarded as the best excursion for Jacques Tati's alter ego Monsieur Hulot, this whimsical comedy builds on the work of American silent stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, to produce a French variation on the art of slapstick.
80
BBC by Jamie Russell
Widely regarded as the best excursion for Jacques Tati's alter ego Monsieur Hulot, this whimsical comedy builds on the work of American silent stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, to produce a French variation on the art of slapstick.
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