Playtime

We didn't enjoy Tati's 'Mon Oncle', but had a minor conversion with this 1967 classic, with more Monsieur Hulot.
Early on, we worried on the same themes; the technology tropes were a little predictable, the shots seemed to last forever and be going precisely knowehere.
But yet Tati did succeed in drawing us in. His formal composition of shots seems to have unimaginably imprived. Their is some genuine beauty in his characteristic wide, wide shots, even if the little jokes of changing perspectives did become a little tiresome.
Tati has his smart little touches of deliberately not letting the obvious happen, of confounding expectations. It isn't particulalry funny, but the long long scenes (espeically when it doesn't follow Hulot, when it actual fact for the lot of the time it is better) can give a nice almost mourn, a quiet dignity. Something there in the opposite sides of the wall with the T.V.'s, in the images that show silence.
The scene that we really enjoyed was the long farce in the restaurant. Nicely balanced constantly changing, showing some repition yet staying inventive. It was a smart use of space, nicely lit and so on. Impressive.
Is this film too long? Probably, but time is a difficult notion in Hulot's films. The scenes do last so long, the notion of time in fact is almost suspended. It just extends constantly, the lack of linear structure means it doesn't so much go on, it just has an overall length, which may be a little tiring.
This film is like a party, in that somethimes charming really fun, bizarre in time as it meanders its bits and pieces together to a finish. We are happy to say that we now will take a little bit more time for Tati.