Mon Oncle

For the 1971 Canadian film, see Mon oncle Antoine.
Mon Oncle
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJacques Tati
Written by
Produced byJacques Tati
Starring
  • Jacques Tati
  • Jean-Pierre Zola
  • Adrienne Servantie
  • Alain Bécourt
CinematographyJean Bourgoin
Edited bySuzanne Baron
Music by
Production
companies
  • Specta-Films
  • Gray-Film
  • Alter-Films
  • Film del Centauro
  • Cady-Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 10 May 1958 (1958-05-10) (France)
  • 1 October 1958 (1958-10-01) (Italy)
Running time
  • 120 minutes (French)[2]
  • 111 minutes (English)[3]
Countries
LanguageFrench
BudgetFRF 250,000 (est.)

Mon Oncle (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃n‿ɔ̃kl]; transl. My Uncle) is a 1958 comedy film directed by Jacques Tati. The first of Tati's films to be released in colour,[c] Mon Oncle won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film,[5] a Special Prize at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival,[6] and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film, receiving more honours than any of Tati's other cinematic works.

The film centers on the socially awkward yet lovable character of Monsieur Hulot and his quixotic struggle with postwar France's infatuation with modern architecture, mechanical efficiency and consumerism. As with most Tati films, Mon Oncle is largely a visual comedy; colour and lighting are employed to help tell the story. The dialogue in Mon Oncle is barely audible, and largely subordinated to the role of a sound effect. The drifting noises of heated arguments and idle banter complement other sounds and the physical movements of the characters, intensifying comedic effect. The complex soundtrack also uses music to characterise environments, including a lively musical theme that represents Hulot's world of comical inefficiency and freedom.[citation needed]

At its debut in 1958 in France, Mon Oncle was denounced by some critics for what they viewed as a reactionary or even poujadiste view of an emerging French consumer society, which had lately embraced a new wave of industrial modernization and a more rigid social structure.[7] However, this criticism soon gave way in the face of the film's huge popularity in France and abroad – even in the United States, where rampant discretionary consumption and a recession had caused those on both the right and the left to question the economic and social values of the era.[8][9] The film was another box office success for Tati, with a total of 4,576,928 admissions in France.[10]


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  1. ^ "Mio zio". Cinematografo (in Italian). Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference bosley was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "The Color of Paradise". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
  5. ^ "The 31st Academy Awards | 1959". Academy Awards. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Mon Oncle". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. ^ Arte Magazine 2002, p. 13.
  8. ^ Feldstein, Ruth (2000). Motherhood in Black and White: Race and Sex in American Liberalism, 1930–1965. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-0-8014-8438-4.
  9. ^ Tucker, David M. (1991). The Decline of Thrift in America: Our Cultural Shift from Saving to Spending. New York: Praeger. pp. 137–139. ISBN 978-0-275-93685-3.
  10. ^ "Mon oncle (1958)". JP Box-Office (in French).