#7: Playtime

"Playtime" is set in Paris, but don't be surprised if it looks nothing like the Paris you are used to seeing. As far as we know, "Playtime" is not a futuristic film, but it seems to be set in a very modernized version of world of today. The film is also what the title suggests, it is a playful and inventive comedy about how we perceive ourselves in a world overwhelmed with technology.

"Playtime" was directed with a master's hand by Jaques Tati, the French comedic director who's persona became M. Hulot is one of the most lovable characters in cinema. Admittedly, I have not seen the other Hulot comedies, and in "Playtime", you get the sense that Tati was trying to distance his character from the main point of the film. There are even certain instances where we mistake Hulot in many scenes by impostors wearing his trademark short trousers and raincoat with an umbrella. The impostor Hulots are just one of the bits of illusion Tati uses in the film.

"Playtimes" was shot in a very unique way, using only wide shots depicting very public places. Each set piece be it an airport, an apartment building, or a restaurant are used to establish the changing materialistic world that Paris has become. Tati shows that even the simplest thing such as a chair has been turned into something that is difficult to comprehend.

When we are not following Hulot, we also focus on Barbara, an American tourist who wants to get a glimpse of Paris, but her tour group seems to thrust her into buildings and scenarios that all look the same. At one moment Barbara is looking at a travel poster of London, then when she walks onto the streets of Paris, she seems almost the exact picture in real life. Tati isn't subtle in showing us how places are losing their individuality, the film could've taken place in London, or New York, and we probably wouldn't have seen a difference. Tati's modernized Paris has lost all its colour, the buildings all look the same and have a grayish tone, and the people inhabiting the city seem to have blended in with their surroundings. For Hulot, who is a native, he seems to be as lost as a regular tourist at this modern world, running into spaces that turn into elevators, seeing one building that is the same not knowing where to go.

The real Paris, or the one we want to remember is reflected briefly against glass windows, just sort of a reminder that the beauty of the city still exists, but remains in the background. When Barbara tries to take a picture of an old fashioned flower shop in the midst of all the new and improved things, the hustle and bustle of that world prevents her to take it.

Tati doesn't all look that impressed with the new fast paced technology driven society depicted in his film, and he reflects this with a highly comedic piece set in a futuristic restaurant. The set piece which almost makes up half of the film shows this restaurant as something that clearly is trying to open before it really should. Before our very eyes, the restaurant falls apart on itself, and soon resembles a funhouse instead of a restaurant. The glass door breaks, but the doorman still has the handle, and holds it up, while the customers don't seem to notice. The chairs which have a crown design on its back leave marks on the patrons. Tile floors are uprooted, a waiter's uniform is ruined, and no one can turn down the heat because the instructions aren't in french. This is the folly of man, and Tati can't help but laugh at it.

Despite the cynical look at the new modern world, Tati can't help but have fun with it, the set pieces are all expertly executed as Tati shows off his talent of using his space and movement of actors. He never seems to have a direct focus on any one person at a time unless Hulot or Barbara are in the scene, however we always can follow the action. The film feels much like a silent film with sound effects, and Tati could've easily cut all dialogue, and it would still be an entertaining film. The way his sound design is set up, and the way the actors speak in his space, I sometimes felt I was watching a Robert Alman movie.

When I first saw "Playtime" I thought it was very charming, and for awhile it was one of my favorite films. It has that European flavor to it, that makes it somewhat of a harsh movie, but it doesn't lose its sense of magic and invention which makes it highly entertaining to watch, each time I see it, I notice something I didn't see before.