At the early time of this blog, I wrote about Jacques Tati's "Playtime". After 4-5 years have passed since then, I was so surprised how my feelings changed, or diversified, not to say matured. Okay, I must admit that I said I felt like sleepy though I loved this film so much.
My first Jacques Tati experience was probably like everyone, "Mon Oncle". It was a striking discover. I understood how I care for modernism (Ultra-modernism, in the film) in the mid-century. Later I've got to know "Playtime", but I simply couldn't get it. I was just overwhelmed by the uniqueness, subtle but plenty sense of comedy, artistic perfectionism and the length.
Now free from the snobbism in youth that values the state of feeling like understanding something so classy and sophisticated, I am lucky to have an opportunity to find the real value of the film. What was it? I dare not explain, because it was really an extraordinary work of art. The sound (each of the footsteps, machine, wind, noise, car klaxon) are all carefully delivered and allocated. The buildings and set design are awesome in every inch, people are gorgeous and lively, and every single scene contains modest seeds for laughter. It is outstanding, but furthermore, fun to watch.
The last sequence in the restaurant was once a nonsense to me. But now I understand this is a complicated mixture of laughter and sophistication, nonsense and warmth. It is marvelous and beautiful, and ridiculous. What is the most wonderful thing to me is whatever my sense and feelings have changed, the film still strongly fascinates me.
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