Playtime (4K Restoration)

PLAYTIME follows two parallel storylines that eventually intersect in an ultra-modern, gleaming yet disorientating version of Paris. American tourists land at Orly for a brief visit to the city, whilst Monsieur Hulot, meanwhile, tries to find his way around the same neighbourhood and look for work. In this world of glass, steel and reflective surfaces, Hulot is constantly losing his bearings. Making contact proves difficult, conversations go awry and the city itself seems more like a labyrinth of modernity than a familiar place. The tourists and Hulot move independently of one another through the same spaces, until their paths finally cross at the newly opened, chic Royal Garden restaurant, where the modern façade slowly but surely begins to disintegrate into organised chaos. The film has also been restored in 4K, bringing the architectural precision, visual layering and Tati’s meticulous choreography of people and space back to life with striking clarity and impressiveness. (1967 · Jacques Tati · 124 min) Screening at De Uitkijk.