Jacques Tati’s masterpiece Playtime finds his
stock character, the forever-bemused Monsieur Hulot (who was
beginning, in 1967, to lose even his creator’s affection) receding
against a brilliant panorama of technology and tourism, pushy
gadgets and antiseptic glass. There’s something new to look at in
every corner of Tati’s elaborate frames, so even if you saw the
superior 70 mm print at SIFF in 2004, it’s worth seeing it again on 35.
(Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave,
267-5380. 7 and 9:30 pm, $5—$8.50.)

Annie Wagner is The Stranger's former film editor. She was born and raised in Capitol Hill, but has since lived in such far-flung locales as Phoenix, AZ, Charlottesville, VA, and Wedgwood. After graduating...