JACQUES TATI: GENIUS OF FRENCH COMEDY
New 35mm prints!
Is there anything new to be said about the French comic performer and filmmaker Jacques Tati and his eccentric alter ego Monsieur Hulot? Recognized internationally as one of the most innovative and creative filmmakers of his time, much of Tati’s work is about the humor of humanity attempting to exist in an increasingly mechanical society. He broke apart and then reinvented slapstick comedy. His films are just as relevant as ever, if not more so, in this new dehumanized digital age. For those who are new to his work, you will discover one of the masters of modern cinema. And for those who already know him, this is a rare chance for re-discovery of films which easily stand up to, and benefit from, repeated viewings.
Thu, Jan 21: JOUR DE FÊTE
Sun, Jan 24: THE MAGNIFICENT TATI
Thu, Jan 28: M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY
Sun, Jan 31: MON ONCLE
Thu, Feb 4: TRAFIC
Thu, Feb 11: PLAYTIME
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JOUR DE FÊTE
Thu, Jan 21, 7:30 pm
Tati’s first feature sets in motion his innovative form of visual comedy. Set in a quiet village, a carnival arrives with a carousel, brass band and even a traveling cinema. François, the inept local postman, discovers a film about the US postal service and decides to try to speed up his deliveries…and then the trouble begins. We present the rare, color version restored by Tati’s daughter and cinematographer (1949, 90 min). Preceded by the short L'ecole des facteurs (1947, 18 min)
THE MAGNIFICENT TATI
BY MICHAEL HOUSE
Sun, Jan 24, 2 pm
US premiere!
Director in person
This compelling brand-new documentary explores Tati’s career from his roots in the Parisian music-halls of the ‘30s to his rise and ultimate fall from grace after the release of his masterpiece Playtime. An eclectic range of interviewees (including admirers Mike Mills, Frank Black and Sylain Chomet) pay testament to his genius, and a wealth of clips make this an essential accompaniment to the retrospective. (2009, 60 min, digital video)
M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY
Thu, Jan 28, 7:30 pm
In our first encounter with pipe-smoking Hulot, he attempts to have a holiday at a seaside resort and provokes one hilarious disaster after another. The film is also a wildly ridiculous satire of the other vacationers, unwavering in their determination to enjoy themselves in the middle of chaos (1953, 90 min). Preceded by the short Soigne ton gauche by René Clément (1936, 20 min).
MON ONCLE
Sun, Jan 31, 2 pm
An oblivious Hulot is let loose in the high-tech home of relatives, and then gets an ill-fated job in a sterile plastic factory. Tati’s unique form of understated pandemonium again ensues in this stinging commentary on mechanized living and bourgeois pretension. English language version. (Please note: though of excellent quality, Mon Oncle is not a brand-new print) (1958, 116 min)
TRAFIC
Thu, Feb 4, 7:30 pm
Tati's final feature is a bizarre and exuberant look at society and the automobile, capturing the absurdities of human behavior on the street and behind the wheel. Hulot is back as an absent-minded inventor trying to transport his ultramodern camper to an auto show. A constant stream of sophisticated pantomime and sound gags ensue as he tools haplessly along the superhighway. (1971, 100 min)
PLAYTIME
Thu, Feb 11, 7:30 pm
Tati is at the height of his powers in this ingeniously choreographed, endlessly complex and nearly wordless comedy. This time we join Hulot, along with a horde of other lost souls, as he attempts to find his way into a bafflingly modernist Paris. “Perhaps the most madly modernistic work of anti-modernism in the history of cinema.” —The New Yorker (1967, 123 min). Followed by the short Cours du soir (1967, 30 min)
Special thanks to Cécile Hokes, French Consulate, San Francisco; Delphine Selles, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York; and Susan Oxtoby, Pacific Film Archive