The well-culled celluloid offerings this year have included the gritty realism of Soviet filmmakers Stanislav Rostotsky and Yuri Ozerov, Japanese masters Kenji Mizoguchi and Akira Kurosawa, a 75th anniversary of The Maltese Falcon — and yes, French New Wavers Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, Robert Aldric and Jacques Tati. If you didn’t catch the screening of Tati’s Playtime, you missed out. The film’s exploration of Paris circa 1967 is a cacophony of motion and music; it tells the story of a man looking for an American official who gets caught up with a group of tourists. As any film worth its stock — and most films screened at the museum — will do, Playtime offers commentary on life’s circus. Trying to figure it out for yourself? Spend an afternoon taking in a vintage flick at the MFAH.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 5, 2005.