For me, it took a while for Jacques Tati's films to sink in, though I guess I did like Mon Oncle right away. I definitely didn't care too much for Playtime the very first time I saw it (on a borrowed VHS copy!), but it has grown on me a lot, and I consider it a masterpiece (along with pretty much all film critics). Some thoughts on Tati are in this appreciation, and then I guess the extended riffs are in this post. In this post, I compared Tativille from Playtime to the TransLink HQ in Sapperton, New West.
At any rate, I ran over to Simcoe Place for lunch on Thursday, trying to take advantage of the fall weather before winter hits. It's been under construction for some time (hopefully connecting to a new node on the PATH before too long). Basically, half of the restaurants have closed down and about half of the seating area is roped off for construction, but the Thai place I like is still going strong. (This is even more critical now that the Thai place in Union Station has closed down for good for unknown reasons, which makes me quite sad.)
On this visit, there was actually someone on a ladder, carrying out some painting, while all the dining activity was going on, and this seemed so quintessentially Tatiesque that I had to take a couple of photos.
Oddly, there really don't seen to be screen captures from Playtime of the workmen in the restaurant leading up to the chaotic nightclub scene, but here are a few of the architects and designers trying to get everything ready for opening night.
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