Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc.
The film affectionately lampoons several hidebound elements of French political and economic classes, from chubby capitalists and self-important Marxist intellectuals to petty proprietors and drab dilettantes, most of whom find it nearly impossible to free themselves, even temporarily, from their rigid social roles in order to relax and enjoy life. Is this, in some small way, a precursor to "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"?
On its release in the United States, Bosley Crowther's review said that the film contained "much the same visual satire that we used to get in the 'silent' days from the pictures of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and such as those." Crowther is quite right, and it would be no surprise if Tati used these earlier comedians as his template. His previous film, "Jour de Fete", had all the earmarks of a silent comedy.
The film affectionately lampoons several hidebound elements of French political and economic classes, from chubby capitalists and self-important Marxist intellectuals to petty proprietors and drab dilettantes, most of whom find it nearly impossible to free themselves, even temporarily, from their rigid social roles in order to relax and enjoy life. Is this, in some small way, a precursor to "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"?
On its release in the United States, Bosley Crowther's review said that the film contained "much the same visual satire that we used to get in the 'silent' days from the pictures of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and such as those." Crowther is quite right, and it would be no surprise if Tati used these earlier comedians as his template. His previous film, "Jour de Fete", had all the earmarks of a silent comedy.