by Sam Juliano
The indefatigable “Mr. Hulot”, who appeared in four of Jacques Tati’s films is one of the cinema’s most venerable creations. First published in France under the title Hello Monsieur Hulot David Merveile’s sublime and utterly delightful picture book Hello Mr. Hulot is a labor of love by a lifelong fan of the iconic character, Jacques Tati’s tragic-comic alter ego. A pace gone awry, technological advancements and the inevitably complex transportation system make life difficult for the gauche and blundering Hulot, whose most distinctive attributes center around his dress. His short trousers and wrinkled coat, striped socks and trademark pipe, hat and umbrella have established a singular identification. While never matching the universal love and recognition afforded Chaplin’s tramp or Keaton’s stone face, he has persevered in the shadow of the cold and inhuman modern society he mocked with a unrepentant quixotic glee, as one of the greatest comic creations in the history of the cinema.
Hulot was featured successively in Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953), Mon Oncle (1959), Play Time (1967) and Traffic (1971). Author Melville claims he caught Hulot fever in 2004 after hiding a drawing of the iconic character in one of his illustrations, and then getting many responses from fans. Merville adds: “Translating Tati’s films into the genre of the picture book seemed very logical to me: I could actually silhouette the behavior and gestures of Monsieur Hulot. It’s ideal for a paper copy. The great film posters from Pierre Etaix demonstrated this. Also, Tati’s access to film, his love for details, his keen powers of observation, his interest in things, his feelings about architecture, his economical use of dialogue, and his visual jokes have all encouraged me to develop Monsieur Hulot on paper.”
The book features delightfully colorful and witty comic strip-style illustrations depicting twenty-two alluring scenes with a page turn that showcases a surprise ending the narrative panels that precede it. In one gem titled “Pipes Allowed” Hulot’s incessant pipe smoking in an increasingly hostile environment plays out on a bus where a woman angrily points to a no-smoking sign while surrenders as bubbles flow from his pipe, amusing the woman’s young child. In the full page denouement bubbles seem to emanate from all sources in front of a French cafe – they rise from the popsicles being enjoyed from a young couple, one fills in for a balloon being held on a string carried by a child and they form speech bubbles for conversing patrons.
One of my own personal favorites, “Hulot the Plumber” is one that vigorously recalls the 1940 Del-Lord directed Three Stooges classic “A Plumbing We Will Go” which chronicles the bumbling antics of a clueless Curly, whose idea of fixing a leak is to complicate the situation with far more damaging consequences. Hulot the Plumber comes upon the scene after drips are heard in the kitchen of an apartment building. By utilyzing a mis-directed red hose the bumbling Hulot even manages to intermingle the water and electricity (as the boys in “A Plumbing We Will Go” did with anarchic hilarity) before a temporary reprieve leaves his smugly reading a book while disaster looms by way in the matter of a building completely flooded, with a geyser rising from a chimney, and others trying to save themselves in various manners from the flooding.
Chaos of a different flavor plays out in two other clever vignettes. “The Snowball Effect” first spies our hero innocently walking on a snow covered sidewalk, where he is subsequently pelted by a snowball thrown by a quickly enough revealed mischief hunter. Always the obliging one, Hulot retaliates in kind, but accidentally hits another, while crossfire develops, culminating in the final spread of a street gone haywire with many game to engage in the mayhem. In “Urban Symphony” Hulot is regaled in succession by a boom boxer, a car wildly honking, the grating rat-a-tat of a jackhammer, the sloshing of a street cleaner, the clanging of a man hole cover and the roar of a truck, before noises of every kind converge in a scene that exasperates and even deafens the perpetrators. Hulot’s inherent kindness and solitude surface in “The Umbrella Corner” and “Valentine’s Day.” In the former he shelters a group of birds under his umbrella as rains begins to fall. After the bus pulls up he decides to leave behind the umbrella, which becomes wedged between branches in a tree to serve as a cover for the flock. In the latter series, our everyman ventures upon couples celebrating and toasting their romances, and finally leaves in the rain, with his shadow offering flowers to a woman on a building poster. Merveille’s use of muted colors and lighting is very effective in this melancholic tapestry.
Other memorable vignettes include “The Heart of Paris,” “French Riviera”, “Hulot the Hero”, “Don Quixote” and especially “Chameleon” when Hulot finds physical and ornamental kinship with a penguin, an iguana, a butterfly display, bats hanging in a cave and a raccoon before unconsciously aping the physical positions of a group of flamingos. Much like his cinematic incarnation the Hulot who is at the center of this book’s adventure is a sad figure, and there is a wistfulness that suffuses the vignettes. There is droll humor, more than a dash of irony and the underlining heroic stature that defined this iconic figure. The book proceeds with the kind of cinematic energy and engagement that would make Tati proud.
NorthSouth books 56 pp. $17.95
Note: This is the second entry in a continuing series that will examine non-American picture books of a high level of artistry and creativity that were released during 2013. The series will also include a few special items and recent releases.
Oh, what a wonderful book this looks to be (and what a silver-tongued advocate you are for it, Mr J!). Anything with a Tati connection is likely to be good for me anyway, but this looks pretty special.
I particularly love and adore the umbrella/bunch of flowers picture!
John, I’m thrilled at your reaction to this keeper of a book, that seems to reward further on repeated engagements. Yes Tati is one of the most beloved artists in all of cinema, and Merveille kept the quirkiness intact in envisioning scenes that might have easily enough fit into the Tati game plan. Yes I agree that the rainy night time picture after he left the indoor setting on Valentine’s Day is one of the book’s most striking tapestries. Thanks so much my very good friend!
What a great discovery, Sam! The foibles of M. Hulot are both quaint and eternal, and this illustrated book clearly hopes to keep alive that treasure of sensibility and design.
Your offering reminds me of another illustrated book, both dazzling and charming, on the subject of the North-West French coast as a constant reminder of Les Vacances de M. Hulot, namely, Glynn Boyd Harte’s Mr. Harte’s Holiday (1990)!
Beautifully observed insights Hulot’s universal appeal Jim! And yes, the sensibilities are intact in this wondrous design. And you have me scurrying off right now to investigate MR. HARTE’S HOLIDAY! Thanks as ever for the much appreciated support and kind words my friend.
Sam – I love Mr. Hulot’s the description:
“…short trousers and wrinkled coat, striped socks and trademark pipe, hat and umbrella have established a singular identification.”
And the vibrant color and the comic book style illustrations are definite attention-grabbers!
THANK YOU for sharing this book — that we might not have discovered otherwise — with your readers!
Laurie, you have surely collared the most peculiar but endlessly appealing aspects of this cinematic icon. Yep, the colorful comic-styled illustrations are expertly employed, and bare a kinship to the character’s cinematic adventures. It was a great idea to go with the full page illustration after the series of panels, and the final page turn was always shrouded in mystery. Many thanks my very good friend for the remarkable support and love for the form!
This is one of those special picture books that will appeal and can only be truly appreciated by adults. Hulot is a natural for such an exhibition. The droll humor is charming. I am grateful for the up-front look at this exquisite book and congratulate you on another great review in this prodigious new series. My own favorite panel is the one on Don Quixote.
Excellent point Frank! Yes this particular book can’t be fully appreciated by children -or even young adults for that matter- but the beauty of it all is that kids laugh and are thrilled with it too. I do love that silhouette-laden “Don Quxote” series as well. Thanks for the very kind words my friend.
now this book looks really inspired Sam! Of course the subject is a universally admired figure who is at home in comic-styled picture book panels. That Valentine’s Day panel in the rain is a real beauty. I see you continue to write high quality reviews in this terrific new area of focus.
Thanks for stopping in Peter and hope you are coping with all the white around us. Ugh. Methinks you frame the appeal of Hulot perfectly. Yes, the Valentine Day’s sequence is lovely. Thanks as always for the very kind words my friend.
Glad to see you are continuing on with the reviews of illustrated books, and especially titles produced abroad. This one has obvious appeal for the movie lovers and that curious human hybrid Monsieur Hulot. I have yet to hold it in my hands, but I have placed a hold on the next incoming copy. Your rapturous review makes a strong case and then some.
So very happy you have continued to follow the book series Tim, and am grateful for the support, insights and exceedingly kind words. I assure you this one is a keeper, and look forward to hearing about your first engagement with it.
This is a great idea for a picture book, and an even better execution. I’ve always struggled to find the perfect cross-media analogy for the Hulot films (especially Playtime) – not painting exactly, not cartoons – perhaps it’s the picture book which best mirrors Tati’s spirit.
Yes it was a marvelous idea for sure Joel, and it was handled spectacularly well. One of my favorite books of the past year, and one that invites many returns for all sorts of reasons. Great point about ‘Tati’s spirit’ trumping all!!
Thanks so much for brightening my day today Joel!