The film that brought Jacques Tati international acclaim also launched his on-screen alter ego: the courteous, well-meaning and eternally accident-prone Monsieur Hulot.
In Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Tati takes the theme of a yearly summer seaside holiday, and using the everyday peculiarities of character and place, produces a light-at-heart film that owes as much to dance as it does to slapstick. A genius at extrapolating the absurd from the everyday, Tati's use of sound effects was equally finely tuned.
Gilbert Adair was right on the mark when he described it as resembling a Sempé cartoon crossed with a Cartier-Bresson snapshot, as was Roger Ebert when he said that it’s ‘not a comedy of hilarity but a comedy of memory, nostalgia, fondness and good cheer’.
No other filmmaker shared Tati’s continually amused affection for human nature, and no other filmmaker could have made this.
Just received the check disc and the blu-ray looks fantastic. A few minutes into Tati's 1978 cut of the film, as Hulot is driving his Amilcar along the road to the sea... more >
Just received the check disc and the blu-ray looks fantastic. A few minutes into Tati's 1978 cut of the film, as Hulot is driving his Amilcar along the road to the seaside there is a line of poplar trees in the middle distance. You can see every single leaf shimmering in the breeze. Not only that but the original theatrical release is a quite different film, from its theme played on a trumpet to alternate takes and scenes removed from later cuts. Fot Tati fans it is essential. < less
Jaques Tati is an original, like no-one today, he struggles as if through treacle against machines and objects and situations with impeccable timing and always a good ... more >
Jaques Tati is an original, like no-one today, he struggles as if through treacle against machines and objects and situations with impeccable timing and always a good natured expression on his face. This English language version was created by the director and I remember laughing at it at the cinema as a child. The opening sequence at a railway station where over burdened holidaymakers are directed backwards and forwards through a tunnel from one platform to the next by a garbled announcement system still had me in tucks, as did the sequence at the cemetery where the punctured car tyre somehow manages to become a wreathh on the memorial or where Tati sets sail in a folding boat……Watch it and enjoy. < less
Have just seen this film in our Village Hall as part of the Purbeck Film Festival. Great humour, slapstick, reminded me of my childhood when one had simple holidays wi... more >
Have just seen this film in our Village Hall as part of the Purbeck Film Festival. Great humour, slapstick, reminded me of my childhood when one had simple holidays without mass produced entertainment. Good belly laughs all around and it didn't matter at all that it was in black and white..... < less
"Mr Hulot's The Seaside Holiday" -
Margaret on 19th February 2009
I have had this movie for years! Every time I watch it, I see something I missed last time, it is so funny. I've watched this movie with older than me and younger than... more >
I have had this movie for years! Every time I watch it, I see something I missed last time, it is so funny. I've watched this movie with older than me and younger than me people, teenagers as well and everyone thinks this film is the funniest they have ever watched!! There is no dialogue but the message of communication still makes us have belly-bursting exhaustion, throughout the movie. Its a must have for every film buff. < less
