For a long time, when asked what my favourite film was, I’d delay and defer. Be more specific, I’d say: name a genre, director, or movement. But now I just say Playtime.
There are many reasons to love and revere Jacques Tati’s 1967 masterpiece which, in human terms, is most identifiable through the appearance of the director himself as his famous character Monsieur Hulot. With his crumpled hat, long coat and umbrella, Hulot is an aloof presence: not blundering like Mr Magoo or pitiable like Chaplin, but gently drawing humour and absurdities to the surface with a drifting absentmindedness.
