The Cinematheque

“Slapstick heaven.”

Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

A marvellous satire in the spirit of Chaplin’s Modern Times, Mon oncle, Jacques Tati’s first colour film, won both a Special Jury Prize at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film—although we hasten to add that there is little spoken dialogue, foreign or otherwise, in this ingenious, visually inventive comic work. Made with the painstaking perfectionism for which the director is legendary, Mon oncle has Tati’s accident-prone Monsieur Hulot tangling with modern life while visiting the minimalist, modernist home of his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. The family’s haute abode is filled with hilarious labour-saving gizmos and gadgets, allowing Tati some of his best gags. Originally shot in both French and English, each edited in slightly different ways, this longer, better-known French version hasn’t screened at The Cinematheque since 2008!

In French with English subtitles

“[An] extraordinary film … Unforgettably funny, wonderfully observed, and always technically brilliant.”

Jennifer Selway, Time Out