Comfy, breezy visual comedy.

Monsieur Hulot works as a comic figure much the same way as the postman did in “Jour de Fete”, Tati’s previous (and first) film. The jazzy score is soothing, the seaside setting is pretty, the gags all work pretty well, it’s all a very comfortable experience.

The pacing is a bit haphazard. Hulot didn’t work quite as well for me as the postman from “Jour de Fete”, though I think a lot of that comes down to the setting, which is a bit restrictive in terms of what gags it enables. I liked how there was focus on the sound design, but not really on the dialogue. Not really like a silent movie, but not like a dialogue-dependant one either. Three beach huts, and a fish.