Chichester Cinema at New Park
MON ONCLE
- My Uncle
The 18th Chichester International Film festival
Director Retrospective: Jacques Tati (1907-1982)
Another comic masterpiece from director-star Tati, this 1958 film - his first shot directly in colour - reprises the carefree, oblivious Mr. Hulot. This time, the story finds Hulot, a self-involved twit on a constant collision with the physical world, grappling with 1950s-style progress. Visiting his sister and brother-in-law in their ultra-progressive household full of noisy gadgets and futuristic decor, Hulot inevitably has dust-ups with modernity, each one exceptionally funny.
Taking a page from Buster Keaton's play book, Tati also employs his trademark techniques with sound and production design to achieve the indefinable, comic genius of his films: the rhythmic clacking of footsteps, the cartoon-panel distance of his camera frame from the heart of the action. (Why are funny things funnier when seen from a few extra feet away?) Mon Oncle is unforgettable.
France · 1958 · Jacques Tati · 111min
