Playtime

Jacques Tati’s gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in an age of high technology reached their apotheosis with Playtime.

The lovably clumsy Monsieur Hulot (Tati) finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a modern, gadget-filled Paris.

He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist (Barbara Dennek), and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently cross paths along with a host of other lost souls, into a baffling modern world, this time Paris. 

With every inch of its superwide frame crammed with hilarity and inventiveness, Playtime was a nearly three-year-long, bank-breaking production – and is a lasting record of a modern era tiptoeing on the edge of oblivion.