Jacques Tati's Playtime famously, and sadly, bankrupted him. He obsessed over every detail for years, created a set so elaborate it was practically a "city" that became known as Tativille and removed all semblance of story or plot. Moviegoers, apparently, were not enthralled. To further complicate the matter, while most movies were still in the throes of full on technicolor rainbow assaults, Tati removed almost all color from his magnum opus. Every wall and floor, every chair or desk, every dress or suit is a variation on black, white, grey and dark blue. Even his ubiquitous character, Monsieur Hulot, seems to have lost most of the color in his argyle socks.
But, occasionally, a red appears:
Or a green:
Or both:
Throughout the movie, the colors are desaturated with only the occasional red or green making its way in front of the camera. As to the meaning of it all, that's up to you to figure out. Personally, I think Tati's idea, or the idea hoisted upon him by critics, of the modern world losing its soul to the homogenized sterility of mechanization is pretty basic and once photographed by Tati, a master of framing, rendered essentially meaningless. That is to say, he creates visuals so fascinating, intriguing and exquisite that any point about anything losing its soul is lost, a casualty to the sheer beauty, and soul, of the image on the screen.
And so, point or no point, I love the fact that there once was a director who obsessed so much about his vision that he went to the trouble of having entire buildings, floors, walls, dresses, suits and cars all play within a few millimeters of each other on the color wheel. Black, white, grey, blue. And then, suddenly, tantalizing glimpses of reds and greens.
All of which is to say, as far as visually obsessive directors go, Tati was one of the best. And someone I wish we had more of now.
Throughout the movie, the colors are desaturated with only the occasional red or green making its way in front of the camera. As to the meaning of it all, that's up to you to figure out. Personally, I think Tati's idea, or the idea hoisted upon him by critics, of the modern world losing its soul to the homogenized sterility of mechanization is pretty basic and once photographed by Tati, a master of framing, rendered essentially meaningless. That is to say, he creates visuals so fascinating, intriguing and exquisite that any point about anything losing its soul is lost, a casualty to the sheer beauty, and soul, of the image on the screen.
And so, point or no point, I love the fact that there once was a director who obsessed so much about his vision that he went to the trouble of having entire buildings, floors, walls, dresses, suits and cars all play within a few millimeters of each other on the color wheel. Black, white, grey, blue. And then, suddenly, tantalizing glimpses of reds and greens.
All of which is to say, as far as visually obsessive directors go, Tati was one of the best. And someone I wish we had more of now.
13 comments:
Great post, Greg. I love this film, and I love that its color palette is so purposefully restricted. There's something striking about those gray-on-gray compositions where everything within the frame is a variation on a few dull colors. It winds up being as visually powerful as a more colorful image would be.
I agree that Tati's point in this film is pretty simple and straightforward, and its real point is the joy he takes in his images. But there's also a sense that the film is slowly moving from order and routine towards chaos and liberation, that Tati envisions comedy and visual splendor as routes out of the prosaic dullness of modern life. He's letting the audience and the characters discover joy and humor within these supposedly gray/lifeless modern urban spaces.
But there's also a sense that the film is slowly moving from order and routine towards chaos and liberation, that Tati envisions comedy and visual splendor as routes out of the prosaic dullness of modern life.
Ed, I agree and perhaps, here in the comments, I should qualify my statement a bit more. The film, taken as a progression from order to chaos, succeeds brilliantly. That is what I get from the film, and I guess a part of what I was trying to say by writing "or the idea hoisted upon him by critics" was that the movie is too simplified by audiences into "modern world = soulless and bad" when Tati fills it with too much beauty for such a simple point.
Yeah, I think Tati takes for granted the idea that the modern world is fairly dull and soulless - and then asks, so what, what are you going to do about it? Instead of dedicating the film to establishing how horrible mechanization and conformity are, he presents a world of mechanization and conformity and then has his characters inventively, creatively find places for themselves and their individual pleasures and senses of humor within that dullness. It's all about taking the world as it is and working with it rather than pointlessly lamenting that things aren't better. It's like he's saying, look at how exaggeratedly dull I made this world - and look how beautiful I can make it anyway.
Ed, you just said so much more than I ever could. I should delete what I wrote and make your comment the text portion of the post. I think you hit it dead on target.
Last year, my wife, daughter and I saw Mon Oncle on the big screen at the AFI and were beyond impressed. I movie I had seen a couple of times before and liked became something completely different when viewed on the big screen. Anyway, that same week (it was Tati retrospective) they were showing Playtime but we couldn't get out to see it due to several scheduling conflicts. I still can't believe that Playtime played on the big screen at the AFI right when I couldn't see it! Aaaarrrgghh!!!
Not to rub it in Greg, but the TIFF Lightbox here in Toronto will be showing Playtime soon in 70mm. That, lawrence of Arabia and 2001. I don't think I can make the latter, but I'll be moving heaven and earth to see the first two.
Loved your and Ed's comments.
I'll be curious what Tati-lovers such as yourselves think of "The Illusionist" when it comes out (not sure if a North American release date has been attached). It's my favourite film of the year - it's not exactly an animated Tati film, but his spirit is certainly alive within each cell. It's gorgeous, funny and quite bittersweet.
Bob, I look forward to seeing The Illusionist very much. I liked Triplets of Belleville a lot and Chomet seems perfectly suited to making it.
You're a lucky man to see Playtime on the big screen. I saw 2001 on the big screen years ago and loved it. I imagine you'll have the same response to Playtime.
Great post, Greg. I actually just saw PLAYTIME for the first time a few months ago, and I found it to be a fascinating movie and a mind-blowing piece of design that absolutely proves Tati's genius beyond any doubt. And I struggled to "enjoy" it. I don't know, maybe I'm not really cut out to be a cinephile, since I'm unable, in Tati's case, to transform my appreciation of his artistry into a real enjoyment of what he was doing.
Bill, when I watched Mon Oncle for the first time, I thought it was an excellent movie but, like you with Playtime, I didn't necessarily enjoy it. Then, when I saw it at the AFI with an appreciative audience, it was a wholly different experience. It was enjoyable, charming and funny.
I know if I see Playtime at the AFI (I'm assuming, perhaps falsely, that it will return) it will be the same way. But just watching it by yourself, on a tv, there's more of a feeling of appreciation than enjoyment. Although, I did enjoy it much more on my second viewing. It's been said that you must watch Playtime once as a primer to watching Playtime. It's kind of true because the second viewing felt like my first real viewing of the movie.
Very nice post, Greg. Beautiful screen caps, too!
A few things about Playtime. By way of disclaimer, it's my favorite film, and has been for some time now.
You are quite correct about Tati's obsessive restriction of the color palette. In order to recreate the metal walls that dominate the first half of the film, which would have been prohibitively expensive in metal, he sent a still photographer out to Orly airport, I think, to photograph the walls in large format stills. They then printed them and applied the prints to set walls! That's why there are no reflections in the walls and there are, rather, shadows of the people that fall on them. A creative solution to a budget problem...
While I've always been aware of the use of green and it's almost exclusive reservation for Barbara, I hadn't considered the use of red as well, and its combination with green, until your thoughtful post.
I have the good fortune of seeing it YET AGAIN in 70mm in 4 weeks at the Hammer Musuem's Billy Wilder Theatre in Westwood, Los Angeles (http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs/detail/program_id/696). I will pay closer attention this time to the reds and greens. Thank you for opening up another layer in the intricate puzzle that is Playtime.
Regarding The Illusionist, it opens in Los Angeles and New York on Christmas Day (http://www.sonyclassics.com/theillusionist/), and I can't wait to see it. And, as BobTurnbull said, Playtime will be showing soon in 70mm at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto. So, anyone that's near L.A. or Toronto will have the opportunity in the new year to see Playtime in 70mm with an audience, which is undoubtedly the best way to see it.
k5c0tt, that's brilliant, using blown up photography for the metallic effect. You're very lucky to have seen it more than once on the big screen. I know it will eventually come back here, and when it does, this time, I'm not missing it!
It really is a fascinating and brilliant piece of work, expertly planned and beautifully shot.
This is absolutely a terrific post, one in which you beautifully evoke the elegiac qualities of this master craftsman by way of color, composition and space. I guess now with the blu-ray out, many won't be clamoring for a retrospective, but his kind of cinema resonates on the big-screen venue, particularly this meticulously framed and colored film.
Sam, let's just hope the blu-ray gets the colors right. I know some blu-ray (at least, from what I hear) have had their problems in that area. I still don't have a blu-ray myself, or a tv big enough to really justify it, I don't think, but Playtime deserves the best possible presentation. Which is exactly why I cannot wait for the day, whenever that day comes, that I can see it properly in a theatre.
Beautifully, sensitively seen - and written. Thank you!
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