Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot
The film that introduced Tati’s most famous creation: Monsieur Hulot, a pipe-smoking man perpetually wrapped in a raincoat and out of step with the modern world. In this comedy, Hulot causes endless upheaval in a small seaside resort.
Already familiar to many, especially following his acclaimed directorial debut Jour De Fête, Jacques Tati came into his own and reached new levels of popularity with 1953’s Les Vacances De Monsieur Hulot. The first film to introduce his much-loved alter ego Monsieur Hulot, it sets the pattern for future appearances of the character, throwing the bumbling hero unwittingly into the middle of the action and letting the ensuing mishaps provoke humour ranging from gentle observations to fairly biting satire. The setting this time is a stuffy resort community fond of the peace and quiet that Hulot interrupts without fail. Nearly dialogue-free and driven more by episode than plot (like all of the Hulot films), standout set pieces include a disrupted funeral, an interrupted game of cards, and – one of Tati’s signature bits – a game of tennis played with rules that can politely be called unconventional.