Mon Oncle

(Jacques Tati, France 1958, 117 min., 35mm)

Tricks through Time. Heir of the Lumière brothers and Charlie Chaplin’s sense of comic everyday existence, Jacques Tati’s famous character Monsieur Hulot in My Uncle visits his sister’s ultra-contemporary home and grapples uproariously with all its modern “conveniences.” In this enduring satire on technological gadgetry, Tati reminds us that “all serious things should be smiled out of existence and . . . funny things are ultimately matters for serious thought” (Richard W. Nason, New York Times). A perfect film to watch in celebration of Bastille Day.