MON ONCLE Movie Review

My Uncle
My Uncle, Mr. Hulot

Jacques Tati's justly celebrated comedy contrasts the simple life of his Monsieur Hulot with the technologically complicated life of his family when he aids his nephew in war against his parents’ ultramodern, pushbutton home. Tati's first film in color is an often inspired work in which an impersonal, mechanized future clashes with Hulot's quirky individualism in a series of ingeniously choreographed comic vignettes. Mon Oncle is a reaction to modernization of all sorts, and a visually concise argument against France being overtaken by what was seen as a sterile invasion of glass-and-steel modernism creeping in from America. Tati's obvious genius, however, may strike one as being a bit impersonal itself; his carefully designed gags make their points, but rarely emit the spontaneity of a Buster Keaton or (pardon me) Jerry Lewis. Despite such reservations, Mon Oncle—a sequel to Tati's Mr. Hulot's Holiday—is a formidable achievement, and an undeniable comic landmark.

NEXT STOP … Mr. Hulot's Holiday, Playtime, The General

1958 110m/C FR Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Serrantie, Alain Bacourt; D: Jacques Tati; C: Jean Bourgoin. Academy Awards ‘58: Best Foreign Film; Cannes Film Festival ‘58: Grand Jury Prize; New York Film Critics Awards ‘58: Best Foreign Film. VHS, LV, 8mm HMV, MRV, HHT