Monsieur Hulot's Holiday

Name: Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1954-06-16
Duration: 1 h 23 min
Rating: 7.3
Cast: Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla

Original title: Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

21K

YOUR RATING

Slapstick Comedy

Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

21K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total

Trivia
Jacques Tati recounted later in life that he had been heavily criticized for perceived weak dialogue when this film came out. Tati claimed that his intention was to make the dialogue as realistic as possible (thus, simple or boring) to capture the banality of real vacationers.

Goofs
When Hulot first enters the hotel and closes the door behind himself, his cap is on his head when he bends to pick up his suitcase; when he straightens, the cap is in his hand with the suitcase.

Quotes
Opening Titles: Mr. Hulot is off for a week by the sea. Take a seat behind his camera, and you can spend it with him. Don't look for a plot, for a holiday is meant purely for fun, and if you look for it, you will find more fun in ordinary life than in fiction.

Crazy credits
(Part 2/2): "The restoration project undertaken in 2009 is based on the last version that shocked Tati edited in 1978. You are about to discover the last version, the one the director intended. Thanks to the photochemical process and digital tools, the original image quality of the picture and the richness of the sound have been successfully recreated. Mr. Hulot can now get back on the road and resume his comedy act."

Alternate versions
Original French version is ca. 18 minutes longer than the US version.

Connections
Featured in Omnibus: Monsieur Hulot's Work (1976)

User reviews114

Review

Featured review

7/10

Jacques Tati's Comedy Milestone

"M. Hulot's Holiday" is one of those films that you either get or you don't. Jacques Tati was a fine physical comedian, in the same rank as Buster Keaton, and his Hulot character is perfect. If you like your comedy silent and beautifully observed, you will enjoy this film.

Watching M. Hulot play tennis creases me up every time I see it. The character's whole physical demeanour indicates that he is not wired up in the same way as other humans, even when he is standing still. You could put this oddball in any normal situation and expect him to raise a smirk.

Tati does not carry the whole film and there is enough gentle comedy from the other characters for you not to get bored with his silent shtick. M. Hulot does not overstay his welcome.

I guarantee that you will be humming the theme music for days afterwards. You won't have picked up any catchphrases from its eponymous star turn but it's an enjoyable, thoroughly French movie. If Steve Martin ever tries to remake it, he deserves to be shot.