Mon Oncle

Mon Oncle (1958)
a film by Jacques Tatis

Watching Tati's movies is always a refreshing and cheerful experience and those lighthearted feelings are what I remember now when I'm writing about it. I'm also happy because I was looking forward to post the beautiful poster of this movie at EleKino.

This is the story of the clash between two worlds, the almost sterilized world of the Arpel family and world of M. Hulot. It is the clash between a world of conventions and the informality, between the world of modern bourgeoisie and rural life, a collision between a technology that seems to overwhelm life and simple life. All this is present from the opening credits and follows through all the movie with a great visual contrast between both worlds and in the middle the beautiful relationship of the kid with his uncle.

This movie has the great ability of disguising as naive and simple hiding the great meticulous and whimsical genius of Tatis. Each gag in this movie is carefully constructed and happens with great fluidity on the screen, and no detail is left behind as the images are beautifully composed with the nice touch of Technicolor that goes so well with the story. My favourites are the fish fountain scenes and the sequences on the plastic factory, but the visual construction and the soundtrack are amazing throughout all the film.

It is really difficult to see how tall is Jacques Tatis when you see him dressed as M. Hulot. And it is also difficult to see how great he is as a director and comedian when his movies are so accessible and enjoyable but his influence extends from Mr. Bean's Holiday to Apocalypse Now.