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Playtime was my #6
A lot of people believe in miracles. Some people might believe in Lazarus rising from the dead or Muhammad's supernatural powers. I believe in Playtime.
Playtime is, in short, one of the greatest films ever made. The world that Tati created from his own mind, is similar to some sort of heaven or paradise when looking at it's preciseness, completeness, and sublime... awesomeness. Awesome is a sense of "wow that's totally cool bro" and also in a sense of the literally definition, being full of awe.
There is a film influenced by Tati's masterpiece, and that is Steven Spielberg's Terminal starring Tom Hanks. Spielberg re-designed an existing airport to create a similarly shaded and constructed world. But it didn't match the level of Tati's original version, not even a tiny bit. So, why is that? Spielberg put less effort into a realistic fantasy world full of illusions and wonder, and instead focused on character, dialogue and a story. There, the main problem shows right there; we don't need to go on any further. When watching Playtime, put a footnote inside your head that says "screw basic elements of a film". I thought I would never think of it myself, because I've always loved a good story and character and required them to enjoy a film. But nope, most of Tati's films are a rare exception.
The titular character we are introduced to, and the only one we will get familiar with is Mr. Hulot, played by Tati himself. The greatest aspect of genius in this character is amount of effort not put in trying to be funny. Even Chaplin's various wandering characters needed some kind of shtick to keep the show going. In the case of Playtime, Mr. Hulot just goes around and tours the city, like anybody would do. If you look closely, he really doesn't do anything. It isn't a lack of effort, because like I said above, putting extra effort into a script and dialogue-driven situations would have been a nuisance instead of a bonus point.
To describe the fictional city in Playtime, also known as "Tativille", is very hard to describe, because not even the most dedicated cinephiles have found out most of it's secrets. Another reason why this film is brilliant: it gives you a reason to keep revisiting it, and each time you do, you come out with a few damn good discoveries. Playtime is a relatively new favorite but I've already seen in 3 times. And I still believe a lot more is yet to be discovered and realized; the countless illusions, tricks, twisted views waiting to be uncovered. This film is another one of those films that made me love cinema even further. I hope to revisit it again soon.
I hoped Playtime would place in the Top 30, along with other films, but oh well. But I do wish I had put it higher on my list, because on terms of quality, it should have placed either #1 or #2. Then again, a list is a list when it's personal, and if I took out the personal level, some films *cough* Strangelove *cough* would be placed too low.
For those of you who haven't seen this film yet: drop films from your watchlist and put Playtime as a main priority. It's almost impossible to completely dislike a film like this.
Playtime was my #6
A lot of people believe in miracles. Some people might believe in Lazarus rising from the dead or Muhammad's supernatural powers. I believe in Playtime.
Playtime is, in short, one of the greatest films ever made. The world that Tati created from his own mind, is similar to some sort of heaven or paradise when looking at it's preciseness, completeness, and sublime... awesomeness. Awesome is a sense of "wow that's totally cool bro" and also in a sense of the literally definition, being full of awe.
There is a film influenced by Tati's masterpiece, and that is Steven Spielberg's Terminal starring Tom Hanks. Spielberg re-designed an existing airport to create a similarly shaded and constructed world. But it didn't match the level of Tati's original version, not even a tiny bit. So, why is that? Spielberg put less effort into a realistic fantasy world full of illusions and wonder, and instead focused on character, dialogue and a story. There, the main problem shows right there; we don't need to go on any further. When watching Playtime, put a footnote inside your head that says "screw basic elements of a film". I thought I would never think of it myself, because I've always loved a good story and character and required them to enjoy a film. But nope, most of Tati's films are a rare exception.
The titular character we are introduced to, and the only one we will get familiar with is Mr. Hulot, played by Tati himself. The greatest aspect of genius in this character is amount of effort not put in trying to be funny. Even Chaplin's various wandering characters needed some kind of shtick to keep the show going. In the case of Playtime, Mr. Hulot just goes around and tours the city, like anybody would do. If you look closely, he really doesn't do anything. It isn't a lack of effort, because like I said above, putting extra effort into a script and dialogue-driven situations would have been a nuisance instead of a bonus point.
To describe the fictional city in Playtime, also known as "Tativille", is very hard to describe, because not even the most dedicated cinephiles have found out most of it's secrets. Another reason why this film is brilliant: it gives you a reason to keep revisiting it, and each time you do, you come out with a few damn good discoveries. Playtime is a relatively new favorite but I've already seen in 3 times. And I still believe a lot more is yet to be discovered and realized; the countless illusions, tricks, twisted views waiting to be uncovered. This film is another one of those films that made me love cinema even further. I hope to revisit it again soon.
I hoped Playtime would place in the Top 30, along with other films, but oh well. But I do wish I had put it higher on my list, because on terms of quality, it should have placed either #1 or #2. Then again, a list is a list when it's personal, and if I took out the personal level, some films *cough* Strangelove *cough* would be placed too low.
For those of you who haven't seen this film yet: drop films from your watchlist and put Playtime as a main priority. It's almost impossible to completely dislike a film like this.
(Because I want this post as a review: )
