Tati was fascinated by the collision of modernity with a dying world he had a lot of tenderness for, full of innocence and nonchalance, unproductive, lazy and contemplative. The whole dynamic of Mon Oncle is based on that.
In a beautiful frame at the beginning, we see a breached wall, an old wall, with bits of a fence in it, an old askew lamp, and that broken wall gives a view on modern buildings : big concrete cubes surrounded by a minimalist white fence, a modern street lamp standing erect in front of it.
This opposition of two worlds, two aesthetics, two ways of living - gives Tati the basic material for an amazing number of inventions and clever visual twists. It ALWAYS delivers a terribly funny, generous message, full of hope in the future as much as nostalgic for the past, with innocence looking at the present. nostalgic : at one point M Hulot steps over that particular breached wall from the beginning, makes a brick fall and PUTS IT BACK in place. He wouldn't make a thing change if it were only for him. But the world moves on and so he swings along with it, nonchalant and clumsy as he is. There is no drama in a tati movie, when M Hulot is sent away at the end, "because he is a bad example for Gerard" (the nephew) he makes no fuss, just leaves and says a very french "eh oui" to his neighbour. (c'est la vie!)
Yet if Tati does not condemn he comments what he sees and he is VERY attentive. In return, he expects the same from his audience, in a way that i find very similar to Kubrick's even if the comparison seems odd at first (The two directors, even though they achieved very different goals, had the same obsession for perfection and watched over every aspects of their films : directing of course, sound, settings, - plus acting for tati). Watching a Tati movie does not require to be concentrated, it requires your attention, which is different. It's talking to you in that very particular riddle-like way of old comic strips.
It's a finite work that presents infinite combinations (just like a novel by Joyce), images, sound, editing, - each build their own series of gags at their own rhythm, each stream mixing with the other at unpredictable moments for explosive results.
Tati is funny, witty, clever. He is not depressed. not hysterical. not morbid. Full of ideas, he's right in what he observes and light in the fashion he conveys it to you : that's why he'll make you laugh. Laugh heartily at all the people you'll recognize in the characters he draws, each of them being a bit of us.
In a beautiful frame at the beginning, we see a breached wall, an old wall, with bits of a fence in it, an old askew lamp, and that broken wall gives a view on modern buildings : big concrete cubes surrounded by a minimalist white fence, a modern street lamp standing erect in front of it.
This opposition of two worlds, two aesthetics, two ways of living - gives Tati the basic material for an amazing number of inventions and clever visual twists. It ALWAYS delivers a terribly funny, generous message, full of hope in the future as much as nostalgic for the past, with innocence looking at the present. nostalgic : at one point M Hulot steps over that particular breached wall from the beginning, makes a brick fall and PUTS IT BACK in place. He wouldn't make a thing change if it were only for him. But the world moves on and so he swings along with it, nonchalant and clumsy as he is. There is no drama in a tati movie, when M Hulot is sent away at the end, "because he is a bad example for Gerard" (the nephew) he makes no fuss, just leaves and says a very french "eh oui" to his neighbour. (c'est la vie!)
Yet if Tati does not condemn he comments what he sees and he is VERY attentive. In return, he expects the same from his audience, in a way that i find very similar to Kubrick's even if the comparison seems odd at first (The two directors, even though they achieved very different goals, had the same obsession for perfection and watched over every aspects of their films : directing of course, sound, settings, - plus acting for tati). Watching a Tati movie does not require to be concentrated, it requires your attention, which is different. It's talking to you in that very particular riddle-like way of old comic strips.
It's a finite work that presents infinite combinations (just like a novel by Joyce), images, sound, editing, - each build their own series of gags at their own rhythm, each stream mixing with the other at unpredictable moments for explosive results.
Tati is funny, witty, clever. He is not depressed. not hysterical. not morbid. Full of ideas, he's right in what he observes and light in the fashion he conveys it to you : that's why he'll make you laugh. Laugh heartily at all the people you'll recognize in the characters he draws, each of them being a bit of us.