By 1967, French filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati was tired of playing Monsieur Hulot, his good-natured if befuddled persona from Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday and Mon Oncle. But Hulot was the moneymaker, and so he came along in a supporting capacity for Tati’s most ambitious film, the satirical Playtime. Shot on a monumental set dubbed “Tativille” that was built expressly for the production, the cost was ruinous and bode badly for a film that on release was considered a disappointment but has since emerged as one of cinema’s greats – a technical wowzer with an eyebrow firmly cocked at humanity’s soulless sprint toward modernity. – Kimberley Jones
March 7-8, 10 & 13
