Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
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Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (released as Monsieur Hulot's Holiday in the UK and as Mr. Hulot's Holiday in the USA), is one of Jacques Tati's most famous films, gaining an international reputation for its director upon its release in 1953. Les Vacances introduced the pipe-smoking, well-meaning but clumsy character of M. Hulot, who appears in a number of Tati's subsequent films, including Mon Oncle (1959), Playtime (1967), and Trafic (1971).
Les Vacances follows the adventures of M. Hulot (played by Tati himself) as he spends the mandatory August vacation at a beach resort. The film lampoons several hidebound elements of French political and social classes along the way.
The film was recorded with both French and English soundtracks. While Tati had experimented with color film in his previous film Jour de fête, Les Vacances is black and white. The jazz score is by Alain Romans.
Les Vacances earned Tati an Oscar nomination (shared with Henri Marquet) for Best Original Screenplay.
Les Vacances was filmed in the town of Saint-Marc-sur-Mer in the Loire-Atlantique region of France, and a bronze statue of M. Hulot was later erected overlooking the beach where the film was made.
