Monsieur Hulot has a job interview - but before he can worry about impressing his future employer, he'll need to find them first. Landing in a reimagined modernist Paris, he has to navigate endless corridors, slippery floors, sinking chairs, sliding doors and misleading reflections in a high-tech corporate labyrinth where organised chaos reigns and Hulot sticks out as a misaligned cog in the machinery of modern life.
Bumping into old war comrades and a cute American tourist along the way, Hulot leaves the office block behind and finds himself guest of honour at the opening of Paris' newest (and worst) restaurant - an eatery so fresh the builders haven't even left yet!
Spotlight Pick: Chosen by Nathan Makalena, Creative Coordinator. Nathan had the below to say -
"Modern life, urgh.
It feels like our present took shape from Jaques Tati’s sublime 60s comedy; sprawling systems made more complex and the sapping of colour from clothes and cars. But look closer (preferably on a big Showroom screen) and see the cogs whir!
I selected Playtime for its masterfully-choreographed chaos, where scores of characters weave in and out of scenes, each subtle and strange and worth a moment of spotlight. I hope to laugh with a crowd; not at the same thing but a hundred different asides and idiosyncrasies, playing out en masse, in compositions that will take your breath away.
I want to share this life-affirming delight - to remember that as much as the world seeks to optimise, flatten and automate, we can still be clowns, each and every one of us."
Spotlight
Every month, enjoy one-off screenings of unforgettable films brought back to the big screen, chosen by the staff at Showroom Cinema.
Director Jacques Tati
Year 1967
Duration
2h 4m
Language French with English subtitles
Cast Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden