Review of Mon Oncle (1958) by Tim M — 21 May 2011

Oh, that Monsieur Hulot. This film marked Hulot's second appearance, after the wonderful Monsieur Hulot's Holiday; while I liked the earlier movie better, it was still great to see the character again. Hulot, in case you didn't know, was the regular character of French writer/director/actor Jacques Tati, a bumbling but genial silent clown in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp. He makes his awkward way through various stories, always unintentionally causing problems but doing his best.

This particular movie is a satire of 1950s materialist bourgeois life, though of the quite gentle variety. The story, such as it is, revolves around Hulot's sister's attempts to get him a job and integrate him into normal life. The movie spends a lot of time at the sister's house, which looks like the composite product of every 1950s "World of Tomorrow" advertisement combined into one sterile, hideous building. The house itself is the source of much of the film's humor - I especially liked one shot where two characters talked to each other while walking in opposite directions on a winding garden path. There are various running gags about a fountain and a garage, as well. The humor is never forced - if you don't get the little jokes, Tati isn't going to hit you over the head with them.

As for Tati's performance - well, what can you say about Hulot? He wanders around, pipe in mouth, bowing awkwardly and being nice to everyone, and generally being baffled by modern life. Yet he gets on, somehow. Much like the Dude in The Big Lebowski, Monsieur Hulot abides, man.