M. Hulot's Observations

Jacques Tati's cinema always casts a questioning look at modernity. Appreciating a film like Playtime usually takes a deal of time & rewatching, it's an acquired taste for many cinema-goers. Viewers often say it is too slow & lacks action, & I have to say, it is a very long film! A lot of Playtime involves the insouciant Monsieur Hulot, following on from the previous Mon Oncle, wandering around looking inside buildings - observing all the modern inconveniences as Tati would see it! You have to stick with it, plot is coincidental, dialogue is incidental (as a child Tati obviously spent many long hours studying silent films). There are many small gems in it - like the blissfully unaware Hulot boarding a crowded bus grabbing on to what he thought was a handrail & losing himself in his newspaper, only to find himself again out on the footpath at the next stop because the mistaken handrail was actually the tall floor lamp of a fellow commuter who had alighted the bus ... pure gold!
Footnote: to finance Playtime Tati had to sell his only home - talk about commitment to one's art!