Poster for Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle (1958)

It is in many ways the perfect comedy. And it was directed by the grandson of a Czarist Russian general (Dimitri Tatischeff) who married a French circus performer. I have seen Mon Oncle (“My Uncle”) at least twenty times and own a DVD of it and all of Jacques Tati’s other films.

Like Charlie Chaplin, Tati made comedies in which he both directed and starred. During his whole career, he only completed six full-length films over a period of thirty-five years. But in that number are some real gems:

• Jour de Fête (1947)
• Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Les vacances de M. Hulot, 1953)
• Mon Oncle (1958)
• Playtime (1967)
• Traffic (1971)
• Parade (1973) – made for Swedish television

M. Hulot Views His Sister’s Modern House