Man in the Hat

[didds]

a whimsical, slightly surreal/off beat light comedy - I saw it last night on Prime

very pleasant film.

trailer = https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3768762649 ... _=tt_ov_vi

[didds]

and so to my questions... as there were bits i couldn't quite work out...


what did the men throw into the harbour right at the start of the film?

what is the translation of the "letter" TMWTH wrote on the back of the photo of the woman?
why did he post that photo+message with no address on it (unseen he could have addressed it I guess).

Who was the bloke with the stamping equipment - he seemed to have multiple jobs?

and now into the "explanation" side of things...

I'm not sure this was actually just one single trip TMWTH made. May be its a final trip to the port, but a trip he has made before. And the various interactions he has with various people are over the course of multiple trips over some time, rather than repeatedly in a single trip? Which would explain why the woman on the cycle seems to be able to keep up with TMWTH in a car, why the men in the dyanne are not always where he is, why the man by the river that got wet appear4s all over the place, why the stamping chap seems to have several jobs (see above).


And... was he at the port to travel to England (?) To visit/meet the woman in the photograph?
Thoughts ?

[pje16]

Thanks @Didds
I'll give this a go over the weekend

[didds]

Thanks @Didds
I'll give this a go over the weekend

sit back with some red wine, anchovies, clams, bread and cornichons to enjoy its gentle, whimsical nature. You'll understand why when you've seen it

[nimnarb]

Hey Didds, cant thank you enough for this film.

So, for the first ten minutes I thought wtf and nearly turned it off but usually with French films or films of that nature filmed in France(I presume) it's worth pursuing, even just for the scenery. A quarter of the way through I was intrigued and again thought I have no idea wtf is going on. Half way through I was fixated, with the scenery, the craziness, the characters, the wierdness, and the atmospheric wonder of it all and saying to myself, well the main actor surely can't be Peter Finch as that would make him over 100 and he is dead, talk about a spitting image. I still have no idea what this is all about with 20 minutes to go, but by that time I couldn't give a fig and didn't care and by the end I wanted more and understood.(not all but most) All through this lovely little much needed diversification of what we all have been experiencing, I kept thinking that it so reminds me of something French and then it hit me, Jacques Tati. Will have to watch again to see if I can work out some of your questions but didn't really want to at the time, as it's from a bygone era and the sort of places I would love to be for a while if not an eternity.

[pje16]

I gave up after about 20 mins
found it quite boring
may be just not my sort of thing

[didds]

I kept thinking that it so reminds me of something French and then it hit me, Jacques Tati.

absolutely!

[nimnarb]

I gave up after about 20 mins
found it quite boring
may be just not my sort of thing

Give it another go as that’s when it might get more interesting but I agree, this is not for everyone. But no action, no foul language, etc. as Didds said, glass of wine, some earthy escargots, frogs legs perhaps, preferably fried and dream.

[pje16]

snails and frogs legs
another not for me

[redsturgeon]

I am in love with the woman on the bike...

[didds]

redsturgeon... so any ideas as to my queries in the OP ?

[redsturgeon]

and so to my questions... as there were bits i couldn't quite work out...


what did the men throw into the harbour right at the start of the film?

what is the translation of the "letter" TMWTH wrote on the back of the photo of the woman?
why did he post that photo+message with no address on it (unseen he could have addressed it I guess).

Who was the bloke with the stamping equipment - he seemed to have multiple jobs?

and now into the "explanation" side of things...

I'm not sure this was actually just one single trip TMWTH made. May be its a final trip to the port, but a trip he has made before. And the various interactions he has with various people are over the course of multiple trips over some time, rather than repeatedly in a single trip? Which would explain why the woman on the cycle seems to be able to keep up with TMWTH in a car, why the men in the dyanne are not always where he is, why the man by the river that got wet appear4s all over the place, why the stamping chap seems to have several jobs (see above).


And... was he at the port to travel to England (?) To visit/meet the woman in the photograph?
Thoughts ?

Possible spoilers:






If you look at them unloading stuff before the final party it looks like it was musical instruments or possibly a pig

I feel the whole thing is an allegory of life, missed opportunities, wrong assumptions, lost and found love, more about the journey than the destination.

I don't think that there are necessarily any right or wrong answers just many questions that can be thought over with many possible answers.

John