Mon Oncle-Jacques Tati-1958

After deciding not to get cable TV service at our new apartment and at the coaxing of my niece, we decided to sign up for Netflix.  While I had known of the Netflix procedure of ordering DVDs' through the mail, I was not aware that there was a myriad of TV shows and movies that we could watch instantly.

Our iMac is instantly transformed in the evenings from computer desktop to TV and movie screen.

It was almost 9pm this past Sunday and my husband and I had yet to pick a movie to watch.
I said something light for I feared I was going to fall asleep at any moment.  My husband suggested Jacques Tati's Mon Oncle, a director/actor and film with which I was not familiar. I balked at first, not feeling like reading sub-titles that night, but my husband assure me there would hardly be any words to read.

Jacques Tati plays Monseieur Hulot, a bumbling but lovable bachelor who lives the charming and relaxed French lifestyle of romping dogs, fresh fruit and vegetable carts, the neighborly cafe and the  old-world walk up apartment building.  The movie is a whimsical social commentary on Mr. Hulot's old-world and the new fangled modern world of his sister's family, Madam and Monsieur Arpel and their son Gerard.

Intrigued, I agreed and was taken aback when the opening credits began and I knew I would love the film.

Below, opening credits via signage at a construction site:

Below, Monsieur Hulot's apartment building:

 Below, Monsieur Arpel at the front door of Villa Arpel:

Below, interior of Villa Arpel with Gerard outside the door:

 

Below, the Arpel's new car:

Too many wonderful scenes in this movie, but here are two of my favorites:

Fabulous scene of Monsieur Hulot in the Kitchen at Villa Arpel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE9t98Gox60

Madam Hulot giving a tour of interior of Villa Arpel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmTnJFLZJtA

I LOVED this movie as not only is it utterly charming, it is also visually stunning and stylish. 

Afterwards, my husband said his father, a landscape architect of post-war modern design, loved this movie too and it was fitting that we had seen it on what would have been his dad's  92nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

It is a must see!