PLAYTIME

With my background in the performing arts, naturally I'm drawn to the theatrical mannerism and implications throughout the film. Minimal use of dialogue, simple gestures in repetition and spacial movement portrays the intention that Jacques Tati had envisioned. In general I found the film incredibly inventive and well choreographed throughout. With no particular plot, I enjoyed how the viewer was carried through a series of events in no particular direction except to document a single day as the camera sees it. While characters are highlighted throughout the document, no single character is specifically followed. Only various encounters are focused on throughout the picture.

I appreciate the thoughts already noted concerning spatial problems and social interactions in this preconceived modern metropolis. The questions surrounding private vs. public space and what truly defines this. What is the intention of a glass facade and when should it be used or when is it appropriate? Is its' intention to invite others to join? Or does it create a sense of jealousy when one is not suppose to engage? It seems very subjective in many different cases and essentially the answer appears to depend on the perspective that is portrayed.

In particular, throughout the film I was taught to see a clean cut, yet crowded urban surrounding. Throughout the entire restaurant scene the camera showed people entering and engaging in social interactions. Everything progressed in a reasonably satisfying, amusing, and chaotic way, up till the final scene as Mr. Hulot leaves. Followed by an obviously drunk and stumbling man, the camera shows what is directly opposite the restaurant for the first and only time. While I assumed another glass facade directly opposite the street, it was actually an open parking lot with a distant business building in the background. I simply found this interesting that we are only allowed to see what the camera intends us to see. This in turn promotes the question of perspective and space? If a camera can provoke curiosity, how can we engage a space through the curiosity of perspectives? And how can this enable a different definition of plaza in terms of private and public?