I recently saw and loved the movie MON ONCLE. Many people might be put off by this movie because it's French, or made in 1958 by Tati, but screw 'em. It's the most beautiful social criticism of Le Corbusier's Machine for Living, and it's funny to boot.
The set up is a sweet quiet guy, the Oncle, lives in a small town on the square. The town is traditional old world, vibrant, noisy, fun and a little dirty. His sister, married to a successful businessman lives just outside town in a huge, immaculate, ultra modern home filled with labor saving devices and starkly furnished. The sister has a young son, the nephew of Mon Oncle. The movie plays with the tensions between the old world town and the ultra modern suburb.
Its shockingly prescient. Plastics are big business, cars dominant the landscape and force people to the margins. The people who live in giant antiseptic homes have little sense of humor or awareness of themselves-except materialistically. The town dwellers are more fun, maybe cuz they aren't always vacuuming and they hang out in cafés. But enough with the critical thinking, this movie is FUNNY.
The way Tim Burton's BEETLEJUICE visually skewered modernism, drew heavily from MON ONCLE. Some of the uncomfortable chair gags are almost identical. There's very little dialog and many scenes, like the dogs romping thru town on their own adventures reminded me of the some of the shorts SESAME STREET used to show or Buster Keaton flicks. The masterful situation and prop humor reminded me of the best work of the 3 Stooges or Jerry Lewis with the volume set on mute.
The movie is also a visual stunner, Tati could really frame a scene. The opening credits are groundbreaking and have inspired MANY movies since, including Apocalypse NOW. The modern home and it's furnishings have the "shock of the new" almost 50 yrs later.
The only folks I wouldn't recommend this movie to are McMansion dwellers committed to the superiority of the suburbs. Everybody else needs to see this, seriously, you'll be glad you did.
The set up is a sweet quiet guy, the Oncle, lives in a small town on the square. The town is traditional old world, vibrant, noisy, fun and a little dirty. His sister, married to a successful businessman lives just outside town in a huge, immaculate, ultra modern home filled with labor saving devices and starkly furnished. The sister has a young son, the nephew of Mon Oncle. The movie plays with the tensions between the old world town and the ultra modern suburb.
Its shockingly prescient. Plastics are big business, cars dominant the landscape and force people to the margins. The people who live in giant antiseptic homes have little sense of humor or awareness of themselves-except materialistically. The town dwellers are more fun, maybe cuz they aren't always vacuuming and they hang out in cafés. But enough with the critical thinking, this movie is FUNNY.
The way Tim Burton's BEETLEJUICE visually skewered modernism, drew heavily from MON ONCLE. Some of the uncomfortable chair gags are almost identical. There's very little dialog and many scenes, like the dogs romping thru town on their own adventures reminded me of the some of the shorts SESAME STREET used to show or Buster Keaton flicks. The masterful situation and prop humor reminded me of the best work of the 3 Stooges or Jerry Lewis with the volume set on mute.
The movie is also a visual stunner, Tati could really frame a scene. The opening credits are groundbreaking and have inspired MANY movies since, including Apocalypse NOW. The modern home and it's furnishings have the "shock of the new" almost 50 yrs later.
The only folks I wouldn't recommend this movie to are McMansion dwellers committed to the superiority of the suburbs. Everybody else needs to see this, seriously, you'll be glad you did.
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