Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot [Mr. Hulot’s Holiday] (1953)

(On Cable TV, April 2021) I’m arriving late to Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot – widely hailed as a comedy classic, it has acquired a reputation outside France as a bucolic representation of beach vacations. The star of the movie, obviously, is writer-director-star Jacques Tati, who creates an unforgettable comic character with Monsieur Hulot, a gangly, well meaning but incredibly gaffe-prone protagonist who ends up creating havoc everywhere he goes. Much of the continued comedy of Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot lies in the impeccably choreographed gags, sometimes a bit on-the-nose and predictable, but usually leading to a big final laugh. The atmosphere of the film also makes it easy to like the result. In heading from Paris to a small beach resort, the character exemplifies a postwar lifestyle that carries to this day (there are a lot of movies about the annual summertime migration out of Paris and on to beach resorts). Adding to the unique atmosphere of the film is its refusal to rely on dialogue as anything more than added detail — much of the comedy is purely physical, and it could have very well been a silent film with only a few tweaks. There are plenty of small themes weaved into the framework of what looks like a silly comedy — so hours of entertainment for those who like to pick things apart. Still, there’s no real need to go beyond the surface to appreciate the result, the constant gags and the inventiveness of some of the material. Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot often feels out of time, meaning that it’s as fresh today as it ever was.