Mon Oncle (1958)

 Jacques Tati's "Mon Oncle"

When "Mon Oncle" was released in 1958, Jacques Tati had already established himself as the comedic character of "Monsieur Hulot" in the 1953 film "Monsieur Hulot's Holiday." The character is a Chaplin-esque bumbler who finds himself in comedic circumstances surrounding the absurdities of modern living, all without speaking any word of dialogue. 

In "Mon Oncle," Hulot must navigate the new designs of modern domestic living through his sister and her family's new 'modern' home, full of gadgets and gizmos. After his brother-in-law gets him a new job at a plastic factory. Even there, the new modern technologies are too complicated and perhaps absurd for Hulot to manage.

At the fancy modern home of Hulot's sister, everything seems designed around style rather than functionality. The furniture lacks comfort, the loud and obnoxious kitchen appliances aren't user-friendly, and the geometrical symmetry of the architecture makes for an inconvenient living space. The dedication to superficial aesthetics renders the actual functionality and comfort of this modern life inert. In fact, it produces 'modern' people far more infatuated with appearances than anything else. 

The lack of individuality in these modern aesthetics are even more emphasized through other visual elements that Tati poses. For example, the film opens with shots of homogenous, same make and model beige cars driving down the road single-file. There is no uniqueness or individuality separating these vehicles, as they are all a synchronized, machine-esque homogeny. Also, Tati contrasts his superficial people who have subordinated their humanity with the machines in the plastic factory, monochromatic shades, and cloudy days.

Tati then juxtaposes these ultra-modern lifestyles with Hulot's small, old, run-down village where he lives. We the viewer see this contrast, but Tati allows for it to be experienced through Gerard, Hulot's nephew. Gerard feels stagnant, bored, and restrained by the suffocation of his parents' tidy, uncomfortable ultra-modern home. While travelling into the city with Hulot, he gets to experience more freedom through horse playing with his friends. Of course, when he gets back to his monotonous home, he is greeted with derision from his parents, who must clean him off to fit back into the cold, sterile environment of his home.

"Mon Oncle" was Tati's first color film and he certainly used it to his advantage. Tati is completely a visual filmmaker, uninterested in dialogue. So, his use of color could only add to the critical eye of modern architecture, as a black-and-white rendering would get lost in translation. 

However, the film divided audiences when it was released in 1958, as the film seemed to be poking fun at a vast number of people who bought into the 1950s consumerist culture. The new wave of industrial modernization and rigid social structures wouldn't be challenged so much as they were in the preceding decade with the Nouvelle Vague movement. However, this divide in audiences only garnished the film more attention, as 4 million attended the cinema to see it in France, a staggering number.

With "Mon Oncle," Jacques Tati one-upped himself (and would one-up himself once again with his next film). It was a colorful and hilarious critique of modernity, consumerism, and industrialization. Tati carries on the traditions of silent filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton who use visual gags, critical framing, and tonal context to illicit critical evaluation of how modern technology and industrialization affects the modern individual (and their lack of individuality in these contexts).