NP - Playtime (movie) 1967 on Kanopy

[Mark Kohut]

I remember feeling intellectually lost but in intense LIKING of this film,
the way of the film. I knew I didn't 'get" if but that traffic circle
scene, funny and probably profound Even w two immediate viewings, but it
was so long ago I must see it again.

Here is a Pynchon-like resonance as wikipedia is always saying:
Philip Kemp has described the film's plot as exploring "how the curve comes
to reassert itself over the straight line".[2]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playtime#cite_note-Kemp-2> This progression
is carried out in numerous ways. At the beginning of the film, people walk
in straight lines and turn on right angles. Only working-class construction
workers (representing Hulot's 'old Paris', celebrated in *Mon Oncle
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_Oncle>*) and two music-loving teenagers
move in a curvaceous and naturally human way. Some of this robotlike
behavior begins to loosen in the restaurant scene near the end of the film,
as the participants set aside their assigned roles and learn to enjoy
themselves after a plague of opening-night disasters. Throughout the film,
the American tourists are continually lined up and counted, though Barbara
keeps escaping and must be frequently called back to conform with the
others. By the end, she has united the curve and the line (Hulot's gift, a
square scarf, is fitted to her round head); her straight bus ride back to
the airport becomes lost in a seemingly endless traffic circle that has the
atmosphere of a carnival <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midway_(fair)> ride.

On Tue, May 1, 2018 at 11:21 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:

> A visual comedic feast, very akin to Charlie Chaplain's best, but less
> physical.  Absurdities of all kinds celebrated.  Great satire.
>
> Kanopy is free for me via my public library membership.  Maybe for you too.
>
> David Morris
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>