9 votes

Playtime (1967)

3 comments

  1. [2]
    cfabbro
    Link
    It's great to see dunkey branching out like this. And I have never even heard of this movie, but it looks great so I am definitely going to have to track it down now!

    It's great to see dunkey branching out like this. And I have never even heard of this movie, but it looks great so I am definitely going to have to track it down now!

    2 votes
    1. mrbig
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      It's a classic. I saw it as a kid, and again as an adult. Not an easy watch, as is often the case with French cinema. You are invited to let your gaze wander freely through the (usually static and...

      It's a classic. I saw it as a kid, and again as an adult. Not an easy watch, as is often the case with French cinema. You are invited to let your gaze wander freely through the (usually static and wide) frame. Tati makes the entire scenery come alive, he's constantly playing with our assumptions.

      To be quite frank, not the kind of film I'd watch for pleasure. But it's a great material for inspiration, study, research, etc.

      edit: the quick cuts in the video don't make justice to Tati's style. I get what he's trying to do, but length and rhythm are essential to his craft. As they say, time is of the essence. A super-fast video cannot convey that. One or two shots with fewer or no cuts might have helped with that.

      1 vote
  2. ImmobileVoyager
    Link
    I've just watched this movie a couple of days ago, after re-watching all of Tati over the last months. My conclusion is that Playtime is Jacques Tati's chef d'œuvre.

    I've just watched this movie a couple of days ago, after re-watching all of Tati over the last months. My conclusion is that Playtime is Jacques Tati's chef d'œuvre.

    1 vote