Jacques Tati’s magnum opus Playtime is a satirical comedy set in Paris, humorously portraying society’s confrontation with Modernism. A full-length feature narratively structured in six sequences, the film follows baffled Frenchman Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati), and a young American tourist named Barbara (Barbara Denneck), who frequently encounter each other over the course of a day.
In the film, we observe a city that has been rapidly urbanised and a society whose attitudes towards work and leisure fluctuates in response. Tati’s singular style immerses viewers as architectural inhabitants of a re-imagined, ultra-modern 1960’s Paris, but the audience is nonetheless encouraged to keep a critical eye on the consumer culture that pervades the screen.
Jacques Tati’s magnum opus Playtime is a satirical comedy set in Paris, humorously portraying society’s confrontation with Modernism. A full-length feature narratively structured in six sequences, the film follows baffled Frenchman Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati), and a young American tourist named Barbara (Barbara Denneck), who frequently encounter each other over the course of a day.
In the film, we observe a city that has been rapidly urbanised and a society whose attitudes towards work and leisure fluctuates in response. Tati’s singular style immerses viewers as architectural inhabitants of a re-imagined, ultra-modern 1960’s Paris, but the audience is nonetheless encouraged to keep a critical eye on the consumer culture that pervades the screen.
Jacques Tati’s magnum opus Playtime is a satirical comedy set in Paris, humorously portraying society’s confrontation with Modernism. A full-length feature narratively structured in six sequences, the film follows baffled Frenchman Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati), and a young American tourist named Barbara (Barbara Denneck), who frequently encounter each other over the course of a day.
In the film, we observe a city that has been rapidly urbanised and a society whose attitudes towards work and leisure fluctuates in response. Tati’s singular style immerses viewers as architectural inhabitants of a re-imagined, ultra-modern 1960’s Paris, but the audience is nonetheless encouraged to keep a critical eye on the consumer culture that pervades the screen.