Eavesdropping At The Movies

Jacques Tati's masterpiece, 1967's Playtime, is an extraordinarily ambitious work of visual comedy and social satire. Mike's been keen to see this for fifteen years or more, knowing of its reputation for detailed visual design and the 70mm cinematography that shows it off, waiting for the right moment. José, when Mike suggests we watch it, thinks he's seen it many years ago, but soon realises he was probably thinking of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, Tati's rather more charming comedy of fourteen years prior, so it takes him a while to get into Playtime's rather more offbeat gear. And he is ultimately a little cold to the film, though not immune to its appeal and pleasures, while Mike loves it unconditionally. In a somewhat alternate, near-future Paris, the plot, such as it is, follows two characters: Monsieur Hulot, the character Tati played in several films, as he stumbles through a France he finds unfamiliar and devoid of humanity; and Barbara, an American tourist visiting the city. In approximately six fairly