Jacques Tati’s 1958 film “Mon Oncle” makes the center of its comedy the clashing of the old and new French lifestyles, as well as the class divisions. We follow M. Hulot as his brother tries to get him a job (and a wife) in this new economy. He’s shown to be a kind neighbor, and a good uncle to Gerard. Thus when we see him struggle to keep up with modernity, as in the kitchen scene where the new appliances seem determined to keep him from completing even simple tasks, we aren’t given to laugh at him, but at the kitchen. While at almost every turn the movie reinforces the idea that the modern house, and by association the new rich folk, are impractical, and obsessed with form over function. Such as the ridiculous stone garden which has almost no plants, and strange paths which the characters walk tentatively and awkwardly on.

The opening shots highlight the juxtaposition of the new, modern world being built on the still inhabited, partially rebuilt ruins of the old one. The environment becomes a focus nearly greater than that of the characters by the nature of the film’s cinematography. The camera greatly favors wide shots, and never moves to track the characters. Putting a large emphasis on the almost grayscale color palette of the modern areas, with their smooth, sterile surfaces. Compared to the colorful, lively scenes of old France, with its lower class folk. The diegetic sound in these areas also portrays a sense of homeliness, compared to the often near-silent scenes in new France. When the sound in the modern areas, particularly the Plastac factory, it instead instills a feeling of discomfort, portraying the sense that the world is busily attending to its increasingly alien duties with little to no regard for the people like M. Hulot.