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Playtime (1967, Fr.)
In Jacques Tati's classic and stylized masterpiece
- it was a semi-plotless, almost-silent comedy about the day-in-the-life
misadventures of the filmmaker's regular bumbling character, his
alter-ego Mr. Hulot; it was the last of a trilogy of Hulot films,
including Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953, Fr.) and Mon
Oncle (1958, Fr.); although made in color, the colors were washed
out, making it appear black and white (with subdued shades of grey,
blue, black, and greyish white); there were many deliberately, rarely-seen
views of the actual Paris, mostly in reflections, such as the Eiffel
Tower - unfortunately the film was a major box-office flop:
- the opening scene was of an imposing cold, gray
glass-and-steel concrete, ultra-modern Parisian building (one part
of a massive movie set that comprised a modern-day airport, office
building and restaurant with lots of plate-glass, steel, and window
reflections); it was a disorienting maze of noises and people coming
and going, and arriving at the airport (with overemphasized sound
effects, e.g., slick floors, loud and echoing footsteps and conversations,
loudspeaker announcements, elevators and escalators, buzzing neon
lights, etc.)
- a gray-coated, dark-haired American lady
who had recently arrived at the Orly Airport in Paris - Barbara (Barbara
Dennek) was observed; she was part of a chatty group of American
ladies led by a disgruntled tour guide, who were brought through
Customs and then escorted to a bus to take them to their hotels
in downtown Paris; it was the start of her wanderings through a
nightmarish vision of the 'City of Lights' (with homogenous, uniform,
and drab buildings); she only knew she was actually in Paris during
sightseeing when she viewed the landmark Eiffel Tower in a highly-polished
glass door reflection
- the character of Monsieur Hulot (director
Jacques Tati) - with his overcoat and never-utilized umbrella, pipe
and hat, first arrived at a bus-stop asking for directions,
and then wandering aimlessly; he was lost and overwhelmed
in the maze of the monolithic buildings; he stumbled up to the
entrance of the imposing STLC office skyscraper - it was the beginning
of a funny scene of Hulot seeking an appointment or job interview
with Mr. Giffard (Georges Montant);
- the doorman told him to wait
in the lobby for another man to greet him; far down a long corridor,
the individual was first seen as a distant speck as he noisily
walked toward Hulot (over a 30-second time period); there were
more exaggerated noises: squishy, deflating and uncomfortable cushioned
black chairs, buzzing lights, slippery floors, sounds of heavy
traffic nearby, and a beeping elevator (that accidentally took
him to a higher floor)
- as he continued to wait, Hulot looked down upon
a maze of dozens of office cubicles from a descending escalator
(watch the scene carefully - it was an obvious example of bureaucratic
inefficiency); outside, the tour group disembarked - he often found
himself trailed by or near the American sightseeing tour group
- and by Barbara herself - whom he was often interwoven with and
linked to
Mr. Hulot's Confused Befuddlement in Metropolitan
Paris
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Bus-Stop
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Inside Skyscraper
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Waiting Near a Noisy Corridor
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- the befuddled Hulot detoured to visit
the complex's international tech expo or exhibition hall, where
the latest gizmo-gadgets were being demonstrated; at the same
time, the expo was attended by Barbara's tour group - (i.e., there
were demos of squishy cushioned chairs, an "electric broom" (vacuum
cleaner) with two headlights, a Greek-styled trash can, a sound-proofed
door that silently slammed, etc.); Hulot was repeatedly mistaken
as being one of the customers, and at one point was thought to
be one of the exhibitors of a bright red light
- the film's on-going joke was that there were people
who looked like Hulot (Marc Monjou), or were mistaken for Hulot,
or were actual co-veterans from the Army greeting Hulot
- one of the film's stunning shots was a view of
highly-compartmentalized, box-like, glass-fronted apartment rooms
(from floor to ceiling), a Rear
Window-like view seen from the street level - they were completely
mundane, impersonal, and conformist, without any privacy; at one
point, all four cubicle-sized units were in one shot, each with inhabitants
watching TV - or seemingly interacting with each other through the
wall
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An Apartment Four-Plex: With Floor-to-Ceiling
Display-Style Glass Walls
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- a group of workmen slowly struggled
with a huge pane of glass on a second-floor, while pedestrians
watched the silhouetted pantomime from the street level
- in the climactic, lengthy slapstick and sight-gag-filled
second half - there were visually-comic sequences of opening night
at a fancy, modernized new hotel - the Royal Garden, with a high-class
restaurant-nightclub; it was still under construction, unfinished
and behind schedule; as the glamorously-dressed guests arrived, the
overflow of guests created mishaps and problems, such as:
(1) a newly-installed dance floor tile stuck to the Maitre'D's shoe
and had to be chiseled off by workers
(2) the kitchen serving window was too small for most dish platters
(3) there was a short-circuit in the floor light fixtures
(4) recently-painted yet stylish black chairs (with the spiky-crown-shaped
logo of the restaurant) ruined the back of a man's suit
(5) there were multiple warmings, pepperings, and bastings of a platter
of food (the house special, the Tubot à la Royale") that
was eventually wheeled over to a guest's table on a portable grill
(6) wooden banners hanging down in the bar area obstructed the bartender's
view of guests
(7) the metal chairs ripped many of the waiters' white uniforms
(8) a plate-glass entry door shattered - forcing the doorman, following
Hulot's pretend example, to open and close the non-existent 'invisible'
door for guests and move the round brass door handle in mid-air
The 'Invisible' Glass Door Trick
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Glass Door Shattered
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Hulot's Opening of Non-Existent Door
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Doorman Following Hulot's Example
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(9) a giant pillar holding the AC unit blocked the
main passageway into the restaurant - Hulot accidentally bumped
into it (10) the AC unit began to malfunction - guests were sweating and
iced foods were melting; the AC instructions weren't in French; and
when turned back on, it blasted cold air everywhere
(11) a large section of the restaurant's ceiling collapsed
(12) after everything devolved into frenzied chaos and because there
was no door or doorman, many (including drunks) were directed to
walk in off the street and join the elite crowd; Barbara (in a dark
emerald green dress), who was in attendance with the tour group,
took to a piano to provide entertainment when the jazz band left
the stage
- in a sight gag, a collared
priest stood below the letter "O" of a DRUGSTORE's
neon sign - appearing to have a halo
- by the next morning in the film's conclusion, there
were now colorful and playful views of a clogged automobile roundabout,
including the restaurant's revelers and the tour bus that joined
the normal traffic; the crowded road jam was viewed as a joyful carousel
(accompanied by merry-go-round calliope circus music) and populated
by an endless stream of cars; keeping the same rhythm, there were
cars in a repair bay moving up and down (viewed from the interior
of the tour bus)
Cars in Roundabout Traffic Circle
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Repair Bay: Automobiles Going Up and Down
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- there was a striking and inventive image of the
reflection of the sky and the passing tour bus in a tilted window
being washed
- the last visual, subtle metaphors of beautiful uniformity
were Hulot's parting gesture of two heartfelt souvenirs, gifts or
going-away presents for Barbara as she returned
by coach bus to the airport; the two gifts were a
white scarf with images of Parisian monuments, and a flower sprig
of lily of the valley; the flower's complementary twin was a similarly-shaped
row of curved Parisian city street lamps lining the highway to the
airport
Two Gifts: The Scarf and The Flower Sprig - Streetlights
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Barbara's (Barbara Dennek) Arrival in American Tour Group
- Leaving Orly Airport
Hulot Taken on an Unwanted Elevator Ride
Looking Down on Dozens of Office Cubicles
Reflection of Eiffel Tower As Barbara Entered
Glass Door
Marketing of an "Electric Broom"
Demonstration of a Red Light by Hulot
Workers with a Gigantic Pane of Glass
A Drugstore's Sickening Buzzing Green Neon Light
Illuminated a Cheap Corner Diner's Food Counter
Hulot Bumped into Pillar Blocking Restaurant's
Passageway
Collapse of Restaurant Ceiling
Barbara at the Restaurant in Green Dress at Piano
Collared Priest with Halo
The Ingenious Image of a Window Washer - and
the Reflection of the Sky in the Tilted Glass
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