StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

sergicaballeroalsina Mon oncle is a movie that did not follow any fashion. Monsieur Hulot did not follow any fashion either. An original main character immersed in a deliberate silence, like Buster Keaton and who, like Charlot, does not fit into Modern Times. The film is, in part, a portrait of the ridicule of post- Modern life. A satire of the precious snobs. It unfolds like a great cinematographic trick. A great show of visual jokes, of mime, of old comedy, of rudimentary and timeless universal humor. An essential way of doing comedy through a language that crosses any border, classic but current. Its photography have the feeling of a cartoon and a comic strip. Its music and its colors refer to the circus and the acrobats of daily life, the clowns of the work and the beauty of the imperfect.

pontifikator This is a great movie with the best use of a set I've seen in a long time, and some of the best use of music. The film is the contrast of post-World War II France with its pre-war glory. M. Hulot lives in the old France, in a house in a neighborhood. It's full of people, life is lived and loved on the street, and the music is marvelous. His sister and brother-in-law have become Americanized (even having an American car). Their streets are empty, no houses visible behind the barricades with electric gates. There is no music, only the staccato tattoo of Madame Arpel's heels on the concrete floor. The director uses M. Hulot's house to the fullest, and I encourage watching all the scenes with some attention, as Jacques Tati (who plays Hulot) is a master at his craft.

random_avenger Mr. Hulot (director Tati) lives in an old-fashioned and disorganized neighbourhood where people still travel by horse and cart and dogs can roam free on the streets. He frequently pays visits to his sister's family, the Arpels, who live in an ultra-modern urban house where everything is geometrical, empty and pretty uninhabitable. The family's young son Gérard (Alain Bécourt) likes Hulot, but the parents (Jean-Pierre Zola and Adrienne Servantie) insist his carefree lifestyle is not acceptable and try to hook him up with their uptight neighbour (Dominique Marie) and get him a job at a plastic factory, with catastrophic consequences.The comedic genre allows delicious exaggeration of the contrast between the two neighbourhoods. The pacing is slow and the long runtime allows a lot of focus to be put on small details that are often ignored as self-evident: the complexity of modern kitchen appliances, the tap-walking secretary at the factory, the stepping stones on the Arpels' yard, the pedalled lawnmower, the "eyes" of the house... On the other hand, the antics of Gérard's friends in Hulots's neighbourhood are presented as joyful and unpredictable, like tricking passers-by to walk into lampposts or enjoying the aftermaths of fender-benders that never really happened after all. Hulot and the other adults also have time to enjoy themselves by sitting in cafés and chatting with the easily distracted street cleaner.Even though there is a lot of dialogue in some scenes, Hulot stays silent throughout and maintains an unhurried attitude which is the best way to approach the film too. The sets, music, sound effects, props and other details are all carefully designed to fit the style and provide plenty to enjoy for a viewer that doesn't expect to be force-fed jokes every second. Even though at almost two hours Mon oncle may feel unnecessarily long at points, it is ultimately a rewarding experience. Personally I like it more than Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953), so I recommend giving it a chance even if you're not sure if Tati's calm style is for you. Fans of Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean character may also want to check the film out, as Tati's influence on Bean is immense.

Red_Ice Jacques Tati hails from a small group of super auteuristic filmmakers that includes names from all over the developed world. Few would think to put him in the same category as the likes of Kubrick, Kurosawa or Lynch, but this is an err created by the vortex of commercial culture, not the quality of the work itself. And just a reminder that all Tati movies survive today as part of a resurrection bestowed upon him by admirers within the established film community. The center of this disparity between amateur and professional opinions lies on the single factor of attention to detail. But we all know that subtlety is not the way of the riff-raff.Where is the subtlety? Why, it's in the soup. Mon Oncle features a different style of story-telling in which we are not hit over the head with the details of the plot. But a plot there still is except the central dynamic character is not a traditional character but the setting of Paris. Once you recognize this, you'd see accordingly, the multifarious set elements and caricatures that shape this character. Only then, will you gain unfettered access to the cornucopia that is Tati's vision.In summary, this story is about the silly plight of a much too likable Mr. Hulot lost in an equally charming city bent on embracing the inevitably machinations of modernity. The real joy is noting ALL of the caricature elements and see its beauty in and of itself. Mon Oncle brings to mind, for me, childish emanations of a Where's Waldo type world and that's exactly it. There is light humour throughout but neither sex nor violence.If this just isn't enough for you, no worries, it means you're an adult. Particularly of similar ilk as the G.F. Babbitt incarnations in that ultra modern home.Keynote points: the street sweeper that never actually sweeps, the dog walker that get walked by his dog, and the pastry vendors that repeated wipes his filthy hands on his even-filthier apron, and much much more.