Mon Oncle
d. Jacques Tati, 1958
I have not seen many of Jacques Tati's films (just this and M. Hulot's Holiday), but he is definitely one of the most original and special directors in all the cinema. His films take the lessons learned from masters like Chaplin and Keaton and mixes them with contemporary cinematic elements (color, elaborate designs, sound effects) to make something new.
While Holiday is a pretty cheerful picture all the way through, Mon Oncle is somewhat more pessimistic (especially in the depiction of the "modern" world). The main focus of Holiday was to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, and it does so very well in its 80 minutes of running time. Mon Oncle is more ambitions, both in its running time (about 2 hours) and its complex set designs, which, in turn, lead to more complicated physical comedy by Tati.
The film revolves around Mr. Hulot (Tati) and his sister's family. Hulot lives on the side of town that is messy, loud, and, in more than one way, alive. His sister and her husband and kid live on a mechanized and sterilized home. The design on the home, without the hilarious sequences that ensue, is a masterpiece of set design onto itself. Tati pays such attention to little detail when it comes to his scenes, that even though they seem effortless, the audience kind of has to figure out that a lot of work went into every single one.
There are tons of wonderful scenes in Mon Oncle. Many of the ones I enjoyed the most revolve around a hideous fountain that Hulot's sister has in her garden. Just as lovely are the ones with Hulot in the factory that he gets a job at. This is the same factory that his brother-in-law is an executive of (the factory makes hoses, by the way).
Mon Oncle is bookmarked by all the wonderful scenes of physical comedy, but it also makes a statement about the perils of leading a mechanized life. Although the film obviously favors the lifestyle that Hulot was leading, the last few scenes leave room for hope that even people submerged in a mechanical world can still learn to really communicate.
Also saw a couple of Stan Brakhage films today, but I am unsure as to what to write about them. Since most of them are short I'll probably rewatch them to see if I can understand them better.
