Jacques Tati Embarks on a Blissful Cinematic Holiday

 

A bemusing entertainment perfect for summertime viewing, director/writer/star Jacques Tati’s classic 1953 comedy Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de m. Hulot) offers a highly inventive, consistently beguiling portrait of vacationers at a sunny seaside resort, led by the title character, Mr. Hulot, a pipe-bearing, upbeat, inquisitive gentleman eager to partake of the various activities available at the getaway, and frequently becoming involved in an array of mishaps in the process. The loose-form nature of the screenplay by Tati and Henri Marquet, which consists of a series of vignettes detailing interactions between Hulot and his fellow guests as opposed to a more traditional, story-driven narrative, allows one memorable site gag after another as the resort inhabitants hit the beach, tennis courts, go picnicking, hiking and horseback riding, or lounge around the hotel before and after a repast. Maintaining a diverting blend of alternatively tranquil and raucous moments put over with with charm, precision and a touching humanity by Tati, Holiday conveys the joys and foibles involved in taking a respite away from any care and responsibilities, permitting audiences to identify with all the personalities on display and their various exploits.

Born in 1907 in Le Pecq, France, Tati served in the military and utilized his athletic prowess as part of a professional rugby team before moving into the theatrical world by the mid-1930s, wherein he quickly rose to prominence as a leading physical comic of music halls, while also appearing in several short films. After returning to the military during WWII, Tati would make his entry into direction via a 1947 short, before his first foray into feature-length filmmaking as star, director and co-writer (along with Marquet and René Wheeler) of 1949’s Jour de fête, playing François, an amiable but ungainly mailman that could serve as a blueprint for Hulot. As with his later film excursions, Tati would use scant dialogue and emphasize background noises and music to help convey the proper comedic tone, while also illustrating different amusing set pieces as François traverses around the countryside on his route, encountering misadventures along the way.

After the huge success of fête in France, with the introduction of Hulot in Holiday Tati would gain worldwide fame as an original, gifted comic force in film. Although Hulot does occasionally speak, most of his actions involve clever, carefully staged physical bits of business that harken back to the great comedians of the Silent Era. Tati also masterfully uses sound effects to put over the comedy, such as providing his compact vehicle with so many colorful noises as it toots its way to the resort at the film’s outset, then beyond as Hulot seeks other ventures, that it becomes a significant character in its own right. The nonchalant, pleasant demeanor of Hulot, played by Tati in a simple, highly likeable manner, helps the view quickly bond with the ingratiating figure, and eagerly support Hulot as he attempts to enjoy his downtime to the fullest, withy various levels of success. In a critical supporting role, Alain Romans simple, catchy score is an invaluable aspect in setting the overall breezy tone of the movie, with the main theme repeating throughout the film as a means of introducing most of the sequences, then playfully serving as a motif to the unfolding antics in a manner that lingers with a viewer.

                Although Hulot serves as the central figure of the film, Holiday offers a strong ensemble vibe throughout, with Tati often focusing on the other travelers and giving these actors ample time for amusing segments, including René Lacourt and Marguerite Gérard as a middle aged couple who memorably stroll around the resort and beach grounds at various hours, Raymond Camax as the edgy waiter overseeing the dining area, Lucien Frégis as the hotel’s proprietor, who is often befuddled by Hulot and the other guest’s activities, Valentine Camax as a sweet English lady who takes a shine to Hulot after marveling over his unorthodox but winning methods on the tennis court and a group of travelers who open the film in a chaotic rush to meet the correct train for their journey in one Tati’s most extravagant set pieces. In the most significant role outside of Tati’s, Nathalie Pascaud makes a captivatingly serene heroine as Martine, the lovely and gracious young guest who catches the eye of Hulot and everyone else, in the process serving as a stabilizing, sensible presence amid all the chaos surrounding her, with her partnering alongside Hulot for a dance at a resort costume ball providing one of Pascaud’s standout moments.

Upon release in France in early 1953, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday found notable success with critics and audiences and secured Tati’s reputation as an important filmmaker and expert comic possessing his own distinctive style. The film would be nominated for the prestigious Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film festival and win the Louis Delluc Prize there before witnessing major success in America, where rave reviews and strong art house reaction led to more hosanas, including placement on The New York Times top ten films for 1954, mention as one of the Best Foreign Films by the National Board of Review the same year, and for the 1955 award season, an Oscar nomination for Tati and Marquet in the Best Story and Screenplay writing category. After the overwhelming acclaim and audience response to the film and Hulot, Tati would spend the rest of his filmmaking career focusing on expanding the character in three additional features, before forgoing Hulot in his final offering, 1973’s offbeat, experimental Parade, which was created for Swedish television. As for his Hulot work post-Holiday, he continued to find great favor with critics and viewers, with 1958’s Mon Oncle gaining an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Tati’s next use of Hulot in his most ambitious screen endeavor, which took years to film, came in the ingeniously staged Playtime in 1967, which was not a commercial success while being recognized by critics as possibly Tati’s best work to date, an opinion that has only grown through the years, with Playtime ranking a lofty #23 on the most recent highly regarded 2022 Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made. Tati would follow this with Hulot’s last appearance in 1971’s Traffic, an amusing tale regarding trekking through the country (from Paris to Amsterdam) and meeting various colorful characters and events along the way, in a manner that harkens back to the joys found in Jour de fête and Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday.

The easygoing narrative and ongoing comical mishaps allow Holiday to remain appealing and fresh over repeat viewings, whether watching the original 98-minute version or Tati’s re-edited 1978 86-minute rendering of the movie. Along with the comical verve of the film, it retains an unsentimental sweetness and melancholic tone that can bring a smile to a viewer recalling the film’s more heartwarming moments, such as the friendly adieus offered to Hulot as his singular but relatable holiday comes to a close. Serving as an ideal foray into a cinematic summertime outing, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday remains an exceptionally pleasurable viewing experience for modern audiences, including both classic movie lovers and those heretofore unfamiliar with Tati’s work, who are still able to identity with and relish the escapades the multitude of guests encounter during one of the most satisfying and picturesque jaunts ever committed to film.

And a fond farewell to Ann Blyth, who passed away on June 24^th at 98. Born in New York, Blyth appeared as a teen on Broadway in Watch on the Rhine before entering films in 1944. The following year Blyth gained the role that cemented her cinematic legacy as one of the movie’s most venal, self-centered daughters, Veda in the prime film noir Mildred Pierce, which Blyth played with a verve and maturity that resulted in plenty of rave reviews and her sole Oscar nomination. Afterwards the attractive ingenue would mainly play in much more demur mode, often in musicals wherein her fine singing voice was put to good use, with 1951’s The Great Caruso opposite Mario Lanza providing Blyth with another smash hit signature offering in her filmography. Other works include another key 1940’s noir, Brute Force, 1952’s The World in His Arms opposite Gregory Peck, and three lavish MGM musicals in the mid-1950’s: Rose Marie, The Student Prince and Kismet. Following the title role in 1957’s The Helen Morgan Story, Blyth ended her film career but continued to pop up on television, including The Twilight Zone and her last screen appearance in Murder, She Wrote. Blyth would thereafter occasionally show up as a charming, good-humored guest at Pierce screenings, offering insightful and amusing anecdotes concerning the making of the classic, while praising costar Joan Crawford’s dedication to the movie and expressing gratitude to Crawford for working closely with her to help Blyth gain her career-establishing part. Rest in peace to a true Hollywood class act, Ann Blyth.