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| Table of Contents |
|---|
| Playtime Overview |
| Plot Summary |
| Cast & Crew |
| Background Information |
| Production Details |
| Film Style |
| Reception |
Playtime Overview
Playtime (stylized as PlayTime and also written as Play Time) is a 1967 satirical comedy film directed and co-written by Jacques Tati. Tati also stars in the film, reprising the role of Monsieur Hulot from his earlier films *Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot* (1953) and *Mon Oncle* (1958). However, Tati grew ambivalent towards playing Hulot as a recurring central role during production, and he appears intermittently in Playtime, alternating between central and supporting roles.
Plot
Playtime is set in a hyperconsumerist mid-century modern Paris. The story is structured in six sequences, linked by two characters who repeatedly encounter one another over the course of a day: Barbara, a young American tourist visiting Paris with an American tourist group, and Monsieur Hulot, a befuddled Frenchman lost in the city. The sequences are as follows:
- The Airport: The American tour group arrives at the ultra-modern and impersonal Orly Airport.
- The Offices: M. Hulot arrives at an office building for an important meeting, but gets lost in a maze of disguised rooms and offices. He eventually stumbles into a trade exhibition of office designs and furniture nearly identical to those in the rest of the building.
- The Trade Exhibition: M. Hulot and the American tourists are introduced to the latest modern gadgets, including a door that slams "in golden silence" and a broom with headlights, while the Paris of legend goes all but unnoticed save for a flower seller's stall and reflections of the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre in the building's front door.
- The Apartments: As night falls, M. Hulot meets with an old friend who invites him to his sparsely furnished flat. This sequence is filmed entirely from the street, observing M. Hulot and other building residents through uncurtained floor-to-ceiling picture windows.
- The Royal Garden: A fine dining restaurant has its opening night before construction has been completed. At the restaurant, M. Hulot reunites with several characters he has periodically encountered during the day, along with a few new ones, including a nostalgic ballad singer and a boisterous American businessman. The restaurant falls apart throughout the night as the patrons party.
- The Carousel of Cars: M. Hulot buys Barbara two small gifts before her departure. In the midst of a complex ballet of cars in a traffic circle, the tourists' bus returns to the airport.
Cast
Tati cast nonprofessional actors when possible. He wanted people whose inner essence matched their characters and who could move in the way he wanted.
Background
In the 1960s, French president Charles de Gaulle made a vow to develop his country's economy and reform Paris into a modern city.
Production
The office set for Jacques Tati's Playtime anticipated the dominance of office cubicle arrangements by some 20 years.
Style
Tati wanted the film to be in color but look like it was filmed in black and white, an effect he had employed to some extent in Mon Oncle. The predominant colors are shades of grey, blue, black, and greyish white.
Reception
Tati's financial problems did not improve after Playtime's first showings. On its original French release, Playtime was commercially unsuccessful, failing to earn back a significant portion of its production costs.
