Random YouTubery: Jaques Tati’s Mon Oncle

Here is a bit of the Criterion Collection's description of Tati's 1958 masterpiece, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film:
Slapstick prevails when Jacques Tati’s eccentric hero Monsieur Hulot is let loose in the ultramodern home of his brother-in-law, and in an antiseptic factory that manufactures plastic hose. Tati directs and stars in the second entry of the Hulot series, a delightful satire of mechanized living.

But really, you have to see it. The comedy is all about movement and sound. The Criterion Collection version (available at Netflix) has beautifully restored sound and color. The disc also features an introduction by Terry Jones in which he acknowledges the great influence of Tati on Monty Python, and a 1947 Tati short film L’école des facteurs (link points to a YouTube clip).

Watching Tati, one can also see where Mr. Bean is coming from.



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Here's a time-lapse video of a reconstruction of the ultra-modern Villa Arpel for an interior design exhibit in 2007:




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