Playtime

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Allan C A bomb financially and critically upon its initial release, this film has grown in reputation over the years. Director/star Jaques Tati crafted a film that is a perfect example of pure cinema. What I mean by that is it’s a cinematic experience that could not be told in any other medium. It would not work as a book, or a graphic novel, or any other art form. It only works on celluloid and is an absolute visual marvel, telling its story with moving images in a way that is pure movie magic! As with Tati’s prior films, MON UNCLE and MR. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, this film is primarily visual comedy that is not concerned with narrative storytelling and is basically a series of loosely connected visual set-pieces. The film has Tati’s Monsieur Hulot character struggling to navigate the ultra-modern 1960s Paris office buildings. It’s essentially a silent comedy that’s a thematic update of Chaplin’s MODERN TIMES, where the individual is lost amongst the means of production, which is no longer Chaplin’s factory assembly line, but is now the brutalist architecture, endless cubicles, and efficiencies that are not really efficient, which populate this nightmare of modernity. The film’s production design is a marvel, as is the photography. Tati literally built his own city blocks on the outskirts of Paris, nicknamed by the crew “Tativille,” complete with roads and multiple buildings. The film is in vivid color, even if the color scheme is primarily a monochromatic series of black, grey, and whites, but the visuals absolutely pop! The images on the screen are endlessly watchable, and you cannot take your eyes off what you’re seeing before you! The visuals are striking right up to the last frame. It’s a film I wish I were able to see in the theater on the big screen, but I’m not sure that’ll ever happen. While a good number of critics consider this film amongst the greatest films ever made, I’m not a huge fan of French comedies, so the comic bits were hit or miss for me. Some of them work marvelously and equal the best gags of Keaton, Lloyd, or Chaplin. I laughed out loud multiple times, even though I watched the film by myself.  However, other bits were tedious, dragged on for too long, and were just not all that funny. Comedy is subjective, so for me, the film was not consistently funny throughout, as are the best comedies (that would be SOME LIKE IT HOT, SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS, RAISING ARIZONA, and DAZED & CONFUSED). Still, despite not every bit working as well as others, the film is a masterpiece that is a must-see for anyone who considers themselves a cinephile.  AI CAPSULE REVIEW: A dazzling visual masterpiece that redefines what cinema can be, PlayTime is a stunning, meticulously crafted experience—though its abstract comedy may not land for everyone. Even when the laughs are uneven, the film’s breathtaking imagery and ambition make it essential viewing for serious film lovers. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/18/25 Full Review Ruth A Unique! Fascinating film, with minimal conversation - a sort of very sophisticated slapstick. I've really never seen anything like it. Despite minimal conversation and no clear plot, every scene held my interest. It is a little longer than it needs to be (for example the restaurant scenes) for this kind of film, but that's a minor complaint. The "choreography" of up to 35 or 40 people onscreen at once is amazing! I highly recommend it, especially for people who would like to see a highly unusual film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/12/25 Full Review Stephen C Funny in 1 hour and 33 minutes!!!!!!! In French (France) and English versions with English subtitles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love both subbed and dubbed versions of the movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/09/25 Full Review Insomniac X Dry but visually impressive absurdist comedy. Tati's characters wander through a maze of elaborately constructed but drab set pieces which foreshadow the dystopian environments of Terry Gilliam's "Brazil," resulting in a vision of modern alienation that leans closer to modern art than narrative fiction. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/05/25 Full Review Alexsander F Ótimo filme de Jacques Tati, leve e cômico que é a sua marca registrada, mas dessa vez ele usou o humor para fazer críticas a sociedade capitalista e moderna da época, claro que as pessoas para perceberem isso terão que ter um outro tipo de olhar para com a obra. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/25 Full Review Martijn t We all need a drunk American rich guy who gets the party started at the club, even if said club is not ready (yet) for that much partying. A friend and me joke that every Italian and French movie from the 60s and 70s has a nightclub scene. Well, here's the mother of all nightclub scenes in glorious 70mm. The only other Tati film I'd seen before is Jour de Fête, which I thought was pretty awful, but PlayTime is infinitely better. It's like the missing link between Modern Times and Severance. My favourite part is near the beginning, when mr. Hulot has to wait to be admitted to the waiting room, but the chatter among the American tourists delivered every time too. The paradox of this film is that as much as Tati seems to hate mass consumerism, uniform and cold architecture and busy traffic, and just good old marxist alienation, the camera loves a lot of those glass and steel buildings. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/30/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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