Review of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953) by Dustin D — 26 Aug 2017

M. Hulot's Holiday presents a unique character in visual comedy bits that are painstakingly set up and brilliantly executed. For this reason, I give it a lukewarm passing rating. However, I wouldn't call this an "excellent" film, despite its cult-like international popularity, due to its total lack of story, relateable characters or arc.

You can go to the bathroom and come back 10 minutes later and not miss anything of import. A character with M. Hulot's unpredictable momentum shouldn't be relegated to a listless, meandering movie.

I also didn't find M. Hulot a particularly likeable character, which is fatal for a movie that relies on us finding him amusing. He is usually kind to a fault, but at some points he comes off as a sociopath.

He kicks a man in the butt for no reason, he sees a man get trapped in the back of a car and runs away. I don't understand the character. He is often compared to Charlie Chaplin's Tramp or Buster Keaton.

Those characters, however, while having faults, usually acted in predictable ways and were in stories that got us emotionally invested. The movie treats M. Hulot and the rest of the cast with detachment (technically demonstrated with painfully few closeups).

All the characters are portrayed as awful people deserving of ridicule. In this sense, the movie comes off as rather mean-spirited. In summary, great visual gags in a pointless story.