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Synopsis

Slapstick prevails when Jacques Tati’s eccentric hero Monsieur Hulot is let loose in the ultramodern home of his brother-in-law, and in an antiseptic factory that manufactures plastic hose. Tati directs and stars in the second entry of the Hulot series, a delightful satire of mechanized living. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Jacques Tati

Filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati reinvented the art of slapstick comedy, expertly dissecting the nature of sight gags and pratfalls while exploiting viewer expectations to create an ambitious, richly detailed cinematic parlor game perfect for exploring the infinite mysteries of the modern world. Born Jacques Tatischeff October 9, 1908, in Le Pecq, France; Tati mounted his first film short, the comedy Oscar, Champion du Tennis, in 1931, but never saw the project through to its completion. His subsequent early work, including 1934’s On Demande une Brute, 1935’s Gai Dimanche, and 1936’s Soigne ton Gauche, presaged his later features in their fascination with natural and mechanical sounds. The outbreak of World War II, which he spent stationed in the village of Sainte-Sévère-sur-Indre, brought Tati’s career to a temporary halt, and after completing the 1938 short Retour à la terre, he did not appear before the camera again prior to Claude Autant… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 35 wall posts.
Picture of marmalade skies

Anthony

13Jan12

Unlike M. Hulot's Holiday, Tati's character isn't the hero but a man that cannot fit into the technological world that is approaching but keeps on living. Don't expect to roll on the floor in tears but smile and chuckle at this bewildering and eccentric man.

Ingrid Hoeben likes this

Picture of Adrian

Adrian

7Jan12

Recomforting.

Picture of DirtyBee

DirtyBee

29Aug11

Not especially funny and interesting. 3 stars.

Bart Provoost likes this

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Lists

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Reviews

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Futuristic Home Is Source of Much Humor

By Byron Brubake​r on February 17, 2011

Watched this on Mubi in preparation for seeing The Illusionist. There were no subtitles provided, so I watched the movie as if it was a silent film. From what I understand about Tati any dialog that…  read review

"Mon Oncle"

By Jon on May 8, 2010

Tati’s fascination with modern rituals, technological functionality, and the ever-widening divide between traditional and contemporary living is here turned into an ingenious series of disorderly situations…  read review

Untitled

By thisguy​overher​e on January 26, 2009

I’ve gotta be honest, I was not a fan of this film and don’t understand why it’s been hailed as a classic. There are a lot of classics that I may not be able to connect to, but grasp the reasons why…  read review

Forum

Displaying 2 discussion topics.

Mon Oncle, Tati and Obviously Genius Directors

35 posts by 21 people 8 months ago

"Mon oncle" in English

6 posts by 5 people over 1 year ago

DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.