Andrew Saladino, makes an interesting essay on an interesting aspect of filming, the control of chaos. The film basically is structured in six sequences (The Airport, The Offices, The Trade Exhibition, The Apartments, The Royal Garden, The Carousel of Cars). Saladino chooses and focuses for his essay on one of them, the Royal Garden -Hulot, escaping from his friend, is at the opening of a new restaurant with American tourists. However, the building's construction has barely finished and there are several problems.
Andrew Saladino establishes interesting parallels between this scene and that of Mon Oncle's garden, analyzing aspects such as the double stories located in the background and those in the foreground.
Andrew Saladino establishes interesting parallels between this scene and that of Mon Oncle's garden, analyzing aspects such as the double stories located in the background and those in the foreground.
I think Jacques Tati's PlayTime is one of the unrivaled great films of all time, but rather than talk about its socio-economic commentary or its myriad of slapstick gags, let's take a minute to dive into its extraordinary (and extraordinarily fun) Royal Garden sequence, and explore the inner workings of chaos unfolding.
