See «Playtime», Jacques Tati's old masterpiece, again and again

Le Regard Libre N° 75 - Antoine Bernhard

More than fifty years after its release, Playtime still shines with genius. What is man's place in industrial society? This is surely the central question posed by this slapstick comedy, which ruined its director, Jacques Tati. Playtime has nothing in common with the mawkish, greasy antics so often produced by French cinema today. The result of an unparalleled aesthetic effort, this feature film fully deserves its place among the greatest films in the history of cinema. And, like all masterpieces, it still speaks to us today.

*Playtime* tells the story of the misadventures of Mr. Hulot, a man out of place, lost in a Paris of glass and concrete—a city characterized by a juxtaposition of immense skyscrapers and endless parking garages. At the same time, the city is visited by American tourists who seem to feel right at home there.