That is indeed the Playtime I speak of. If you map “subtlety and style” to vast sets wherein the most mundane of human experience is scaled to prolonged in-your-face portrayals of minutia and passing amusement, thus squeezing all but the extremes out of existence, then yes indeed I am a philistine. In a mad attempt to rescue this grand debacle, I can only explain the content as a view of the world thru an autistic’s eyes: when mental filters are removed and the totality of human perception is unavoidable, the normal range of social experience is lost amid the noise.
:-)
Now, what’s your excuse for liking it? Seriously, I’m trying to get why it’s such a big deal.
1: It looks at modern life without wallowing in nihilism.
It’s not got a mean bone in it’s body. All the characters
are treated with dignity, even the ridiculous ones.
2: It’s infinitely watchable. I’ll admit that the “gags”
aren’t in-your-face Mel Brooks style, but there’s one
happening every minute. It’s not shock comedy. It’s the
quiet humour inherent in the little absurdities of everyday
life.
3: Related to 2, it rewards paying attention. Films today
are visually busy, but you check your brain at the door. As
a heavy reader, I find them deeply unsatisfying and hard to
watch. In Play Time, I find a new sight gag, a new visual
echo, everytime I watch it.
4: Pacing. I admit, it’s a slow movie. It’s not a sprint,
it’s not even a marathon: it’s a stroll through Everyman’s
day. It doesn’t invoke any extreme emotion- laughter or
tears or anger. In Play Time, Tati doesn’t push his
audience’s buttons. I find it a refreshing contrast to most
films, where the director unnaturally manipulates timing,
soundtrack, and script to provoke the desired response and
has no compunction in doing so. It’s a film thrown up in the
air, as it were, to be taken as we find it.
I think it might help to watch the film in conjunction with
“Mon Oncle”, as Play Time is very much an extension of the
themes in that film, pared down to their essence. The
ultimate message of Play Time is that, no matter how the
world tries to cram us in a modernist mold, the human spirit
will out.