New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

That alone is a big difference with Mr. Hulot and Mr. Bean. Tati spent his time working on his character so he could also make statements about, in this case, Communism, French politics, and the character of the people who embody or attempt to espouse those ideas. Atkinson and his co-writer Richard Curtis used Mr. Bean to...well, make jokes. There are no deep statements being made when you watch a hapless, goggle-eyed goober get a Christmas turkey stuck on his head.

I suppose that's what caught me off guard; not that Tati chooses to use Mr. Hulot's Holiday for something grander than just comedy, but that he's able to weave the titular figure, someone used only to be laughed at, with heavier ideas. Comedy can be used to further intellectual ideas and stimulate audience members, but more often than not, those who work in the genre tend to avoid dealing with anything that won't provoke big laughter. That Tati is able to paint with a relatively broad brush in describing the other people who are spending some time at the villa without dragging down the fun of watching these people make dummies of themselves is a credit to his swift direction and lack of heavy-handed portrayals.

Hulot is really the only character who's completely faceless, lacking personality. Granted, we're not here to learn about who these people are, but everyone aside from Hulot is given something that defines them as a person. Hulot's defining characteristic is simply his ability to screw things up. Even Mr. Bean, a cartoonish fellow at best, was given a childlike view of the world, from his little teddy bear to his colorfully-decorated bedroom. Hulot is more of a blank, a cipher; frankly, he's almost an audience member stumbling into this motley group. If anything, the biggest flaw that Mr. Hulot's Holiday has is this lack of relationship to the title character. Again, it's hard to talk about this movie in more conventional terms, because it's anything but conventional. However, when you compare Mr. Hulot with his silent comedian brethren, you're left a bit cold. Though we knew nothing of Chaplin's Little Tramp, how can you not feel a great swell of emotion at the end of City Lights, thrilling as, in some small way, he finally gets to see his true love without any barriers? Watching Keaton's The General is not only exciting for its action, but the romance carries us through the entire film. What, then, of Hulot?

There are no rules that comedy requires a sufficient amount of emotion to keep the audience satisfied. No matter; it's hard to find any comedy that doesn't have some kind of emotion, whether it's fondness for a character or something more, present. Though Mr. Hulot's Holiday features a beautiful blonde who's cooed over by some of the villa's denizens, there's no real connection we can feel with these people. Maybe what draws me toward watching the film again, toward wanting to see these people again, is how I feel like I connect to them in some way. They all fit a common type of person: there's the fierce politico, the chatty busybody, the quiet beauty. Just because Tati makes all of the characters familiar based on people we've all encountered in our lives doesn't mean it's enough to make a strong bond.

So, I come down on Mr. Hulot's Holiday as a film absolutely worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of the type of humor that the stories of Mr. Bean would so often feature. As long as you expect to not feel any connections and just get some amusement out of the simple storyline, you shouldn't feel too left out in the cold. Do remember, though, that Mr. Hulot and company aren't going to stick with you as truly memorable characters.

Continued:       1       2