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Mon Oncle

Play trailer Poster for Mon Oncle Released Nov 3, 1958 1h 58m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Genial, bumbling Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) loves his top-floor apartment in a grimy corner of the city, and cannot fathom why his sister's family has moved to the suburbs. Their house is an ultra-modern nightmare, which Hulot only visits for the sake of stealing away his rambunctious young nephew (Alain Becourt). Hulot's sister (Adrienne Servantie), however, wants to win him over to her new way of life, and conspires to set him up with a wife and job.
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Mon Oncle

Mon Oncle

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Critics Consensus

Jacques Tati's most accessible film is a paean to gentle values and observing the small details of life.

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Critics Reviews

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Jonas Mekas Village Voice It is not a comedy of gags or funny lines (the only kinds of comedy left in Hollywood); here tragedy and comedy go together, enriching each other, contrasting and balancing between laughter and tears. Apr 20, 2022 Full Review Noel Murray The Dissolve Tati comments directly on the changes in French society, drawing up little sketches of people forcing themselves into dehumanizing, uncomfortable positions. Rated: 4/5 Nov 3, 2014 Full Review Keith Uhlich Time Out It’s clear which monde Tati prefers, something all the more explicit in the American print, in which the “cultured” folks speak scrupulously controlled English and the old-worlders talk ebullient French. Rated: 5/5 Sep 8, 2010 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand [Jacques] Tati’s style is effortless as he conducts a complex comic symphonies of sight gags with elegant ease and his gangly performance is deceptively deft and graceful. May 4, 2024 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies There are several themes that Tati plays with in what’s an otherwise playful comedy. He satirizes materialism and the lust for things. And he shows the sterile and artificial relationships of those absorbed with social status. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Jane Freebury The Canberra Times (Australia) It's a witty but gentle send-up of bourgeois pretention that is a classic of comedy in any language. Aug 18, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Hou X Exquisite and minimalist pictures, obvious changes in light and shade, and the visual texture of Edward Hope.There is no extreme sarcasm and criticism.It shows two different social pictures of modern and traditional in a funny way. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/17/24 Full Review martona t An amusing critique of modern city and the superficiality of attraction to novelty, rold with tenderness and lightness. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Very French film that is a funny critique on the advances of technology and industrialisation. The film shows the life of a family who lives a very modernist life which strips the character from their home. However, they believe it is very impressive and that their house is very "communicative". The uncle, Hulot, does not understand this way of living from the paving stones to the kitchen to the machinery in his brother-in-law's workplace which sets him hilarious hijinks. The score is very catchy tune that works very well with the day-to-day lives of these characters. The only part that became a bit stale was the dinner party where the comedic situations became a bit too absurd and impractical. Overall, a wonderfully made French film that has some great comedic timing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review William L It's hard to imagine a comedian that satirizes effectively with the same level of whimsy and cleverness that Tati did. Often keeping the dialogue minimal (though not to the same degree as some of his other films), Mon Oncle feels like a truly international comedy, poking fun at the often pointless material excess that many seem to make the focus of their existence, and while it is a message that is almost done to death here given that there is virtually no deviation from the subject, it's a timeless one as well. Accomplished through clever visual gags that bring to mind the silent comedies of decades prior, Tati goes further not only in the breadth of his technical capabiliy, but the careful planning that went into the construction of long-form jokes featuring recurring imagery and background characters. A bit long for my tastes given the lack of deviation from the subject matter, but still a gem from one of the truly great film comedians. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/11/21 Full Review Liam D A simple but funny movie This Comedy is one of the most entertaining older movies in the genre I've ever seen Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/21 Full Review andres s The dogs at the beginning were real cute, really set the charm for the movie. This reminds me of old Disney movies. That Dachshund was so cute, quite the little personality. That home looks way to modern or even futuristic. That lady's dress is ridiculously huge but her insistent cleaning of everything was funny to watch. Great use of different camera angles especially the ones mounted on the car while driving. What an interesting design for a board room house the way everything's connected. The relationship between Gerard's mom and that lady with the stupid white hat are as fake and empty as that house she lives in. The locations he used for the house and the coal plant where his brother in law worked were purposefully made to look cold and boring, lifeless. You can tell Jaques Tati really liked the sense of community and people socializing. He must have come from a small town. I feel like the movie started out pretty good but then tapered off and became kind of boring. Nothing really mentally stimulating about it. Of course there's some funny moments but I could take it or leave it. I ended up fast forwarding through the second half of the movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Mon Oncle

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Movie Info

Synopsis Genial, bumbling Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) loves his top-floor apartment in a grimy corner of the city, and cannot fathom why his sister's family has moved to the suburbs. Their house is an ultra-modern nightmare, which Hulot only visits for the sake of stealing away his rambunctious young nephew (Alain Becourt). Hulot's sister (Adrienne Servantie), however, wants to win him over to her new way of life, and conspires to set him up with a wife and job.
Director
Jacques Tati
Producer
Jacques Tati, Fred Orain
Screenwriter
Jacques Lagrange, Jean L'Hôte, Jacques Tati
Distributor
Continental Distributing Inc., Criterion Collection
Production Co
Gray-Film, Specta Films, Film del Centauro, Alter Films
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 3, 1958, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 28, 2016
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Mono
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