The words "comic genius" are rather over used where humour and humorists are concerned. But the work of actor/director Jacques Tati is certainly worthy of the accolade. His heyday coincided with the beginning of the golden age of French cinema, i.e. the 1950s. M Tati created some of the funniest movies ever shot and it's rather sad that his star has waned to the extent that it has. Recently the English comedian Rowan Atkinson cited M Tati's alter ego M Hulot as his inspiration for Mr Bean. However, it must be said that the M Hulot character is a lot subtler and the humour engendered is a good deal more sophisticated than Bean's.
Films like Mon Oncle, Jour de Fête and Les Vacances de M Hulot are all gems of comic cinema. And this month, on June 13 to be precise, Les Vacances de M Hulot is to be shown at the Alliance Francaise in Floriana. Shot in the Atlantic resort of San Nazaire and released in 1953, this was M Tati's second film and the one in which he introduced the character of M. Hulot. It follows his adventures in France during the mandatory August vacation at a beach resort, lampooning several hidebound elements of French political and social classes along the way. The film was widely praised by critics, and earned M Tati an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay which was shared with Henri Marquet.
M Tati, who was born in 1907 and died in 1982, began his performing career as a mime during the 1930s. He also started a film career as an actor during this decade. But it was after World War II that his directing career took off. He both directed and starred in his films, developing the character of M Hulot from his second movie, which happened to be Les Vacances de M Hulot. His films have little audible dialogue, but instead are built around elaborate, tightly choreographed visual gags and carefully integrated sound effects. M Tati's character is the gauche, very tall and socially inept Monsieur Hulot, with his trademark raincoat, umbrella and pipe.
There exist several recurrent themes in M Tati's comedic work. These include Western society's obsession with material goods, particularly American-style consumerism, the pressure cooker environment of modern society, the superficiality of relationships among France's various social classes, and the cold and often impractical nature of space-age technology and design.
The fact that Alliance Francaise have chosen to revive one of M Tati's greatest and funniest movies allows us to hope that a full-scale festival of his films in Malta is not too far away.
Films like Mon Oncle, Jour de Fête and Les Vacances de M Hulot are all gems of comic cinema. And this month, on June 13 to be precise, Les Vacances de M Hulot is to be shown at the Alliance Francaise in Floriana. Shot in the Atlantic resort of San Nazaire and released in 1953, this was M Tati's second film and the one in which he introduced the character of M. Hulot. It follows his adventures in France during the mandatory August vacation at a beach resort, lampooning several hidebound elements of French political and social classes along the way. The film was widely praised by critics, and earned M Tati an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay which was shared with Henri Marquet.
M Tati, who was born in 1907 and died in 1982, began his performing career as a mime during the 1930s. He also started a film career as an actor during this decade. But it was after World War II that his directing career took off. He both directed and starred in his films, developing the character of M Hulot from his second movie, which happened to be Les Vacances de M Hulot. His films have little audible dialogue, but instead are built around elaborate, tightly choreographed visual gags and carefully integrated sound effects. M Tati's character is the gauche, very tall and socially inept Monsieur Hulot, with his trademark raincoat, umbrella and pipe.
There exist several recurrent themes in M Tati's comedic work. These include Western society's obsession with material goods, particularly American-style consumerism, the pressure cooker environment of modern society, the superficiality of relationships among France's various social classes, and the cold and often impractical nature of space-age technology and design.
The fact that Alliance Francaise have chosen to revive one of M Tati's greatest and funniest movies allows us to hope that a full-scale festival of his films in Malta is not too far away.