Le cinema de Jacques Tati, Fellini`s Roma at the Bytowne Cinema

I know very little about Jacques Tati`s films. I heard his name quite a few times and read that he was a great influence on newer directors. Leon was telling me that the architecture program had to watch Playtime in their first year to see how Monsieur Hulot interacts with the modern architecture he is confronted with. From what I get Monsieur Hulot is played by Jacques Tati himself and is a returning character in his films.

The Canadian Film Institute are playing five of his films in July at the National Archives Auditorium.

JOUR DE FETE, 1947, Saturday July 5th, 7:00 pm
LES VACANCES DE MONSIEUR HULOT, 1953, Saturday July 12th, 7:00 pm
MON ONCLE, 1958, Saturday July 19th, 7:00 pm
PLAYTIME, 1967, Saturday July 26th, 7:00 pm
TRAFIC, 1971, Saturday August 9th, 7:00 pm

I hope to see you there.

Ps. I decided again that i will no longer be reading film reviews for films i have not yet seen. I have ruined to many surprise endings by doing so, i hope you all follow my lead.

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I caught Fellini`s Roma at the bytowne last night and it was a great show. There was a pretty good turnout alot of the seats in the cinema were full. One thing i really enjoy about the theaters is the sense of community it creates. I dont know the people there but when you know there a full theater of people out there like you, who enjoy the same movies it gives you hope that not everyone is into those big hollywood blockbusters and are more interested in smaller more personal and artistic films. I will admit that most people that are there are alot older and they are most likely rewatching these films in the theaters. They have most likely been to the film actual opening in 1972. The actual film stock had a few problems, the film was interupted 3 times, sometimes for a considerable length. This reel has been traveling from theater to theater for the last thirty years and it was definitly missing a few frames.
For some reason i thought Peter Falk was in this film. Maybe i am thinking of Wings of desire.
While watching the movie again I noted a few things i enjoyed. There is the Fellini Cameo that goes on in the middle of the film, the overcharacterization of everyone facial features, the roman food and table manners, roman decadence and the old music halls and movie theaters.
A few technical aspects to note would be the early use of the multilayering of sound. The technology to achieve this had only recently been created and Fellini was one of the first to make it popular. Since then it can be found in the New Hollywood directors such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Atlman and Woody Allen.
What is the movie about.
I thought the film was a subjective view of Rome from its most beloved citizen Federico Fellini (1920-1993). It showed how the city has changed by contrasting the present day 1970s with the early fascist Italy of the early 40s. The city keeps moving forward and evolving while trying to hold on to something from its past. The architecture and the landmarks like the Saint Peter's Square, Ponte Sant'Angelo and the Column of Marcus Aurelius are shown in these really short shots and do not seem to be the focus as much as a backdrop.
When i first saw Roman Holiday all i could think about was driving around Rome in a Vespa scooter during the day, now after i saw Roma I want to bike around on a Motorcycle into the night.

Ps. I am getting into the habit of seeing Leslie working there monday and i would want to note to my readers to congratulate her on her new place and hope everything goes well with her new roommate Amber, i could not have made it to the Party but I was imformed that it was fun.