Cinema
PlayTime
Playtime
Jacques Tati · 1967
Synopsis
A group of American tourists on a package tour through the capitals of Europe lands at Orly: the airport looks like the one in Rome, the streets like those of Hamburg. In this Paris of glass and steel, one of them, Barbara, crosses paths several times with Monsieur Hulot, lost in offices, a trade exhibition, apartments with large picture windows, then at the Royal Garden, a fashionable restaurant.
Context
For this film, Tati had an immense modern-city set, nicknamed Tativille, built from September 1964 at Saint-Maurice, south-east of Paris. Shot in 70 mm with stereophonic sound, the film cost, according to estimates, between five and twelve million francs, which made it the most expensive French film of its time. Released on 16 December 1967, it was a commercial failure, and the budget overruns forced Tati to mortgage his property.
Who it is for
A two-hour film almost without dialogue, in very wide shots where several actions unfold at once; it is best seen on a big screen.
Prizes and reception
Twenty-third in the Sight and Sound critics' poll in 2022; Criterion published a 4K restoration of it in 2026.
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