M. Hulot's Holiday Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: M. Hulot's Holiday
Year: 1953
Director: Jacques Tati
Country: France
Language: French

While filming his previous feature, 1949’s Jour de fête, Tati witnessed a packed countryside thanks to French middle-class vacationers finally flooding resorts after WWII. Tati found the holiday process hilarious because of the paradoxes he witnessed at play. Few vacationers were actually enjoying themselves, infact many seemed stressed about taking much needed leisure time. Roads filled with traffic, trains overstuffed with passengers, and normally sleepy resorts were crowded with all kinds of folk. Taking a vacation seemed to be more stressful than staying in the city. 

Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation, where he accidentally (but good-naturedly) causes havoc

Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot reminds me of Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character. Both are mostly silent, both are protagonists, both approach the world in a child-like curious manner and, even though they cause a considerable amount of trouble, they both have an innocent charm to them. Although in many ways Monsieur Hulot and The Chaplin’s Little Tramp are aesthetic opposites, despite often reaching the same comical result: the Tramp leans back; Hulot leans forward. The Tramp’s clothes are comically baggy; Hulot’s slacks seem a size too small. The Tramp waddles in short steps; Hulot takes long strides.

Chaplin sought loud and boisterous humor in comparison to Tati’s tranquil yet equally labored-over tone. Hulot’s unconscious blundering is his greatest appeal: “He does not know that he is being funny,” Tati confirmed in an interview. Pattern obliviousness guides him into hilarious situations. Always with an impenetrable, confused expression, Hulot’s incomprehensibility keeps him interesting for the viewer.

Emphasizing comical body language over dialogue, and the sound of nature over a musical score, M.Hulot's Holiday is the rare French film that can be enjoyed without subtitles. One doesn't need to understand the language or culture to "get" the sharp humor embedded throughout the run-time. Tati has made better films, including the Academy Award Winning Mon Oncle,  but if this film isn't a comic masterpiece then it is just short of being one.