Les Vacances de monsieur Hulot (Monsieur Hulot's Holiday)

Mr. Hulot arrives at the seaside in his improbable little car, which looks like it was made for a Soap Box Derby and rides on bicycle wheels. He is decked out in holiday gear and smoking a pipe, is friendly to a fault, but he is the man nobody quite sees. The holiday-makers are distracted by their own worlds and notice Hulot only when something goes wrong, as it often does. There is a pretty blond who is on holiday by herself, and is always cheerful. Hulot the eligible bachelor walks out with her, takes her for a ride and even attempts unsuccessfully to go horseback riding with her, but she keeps him at a distance with her smile. There is a waiter who cannot believe the trouble people put him to; an old couple who think they have been assigned to inspect everything in their path; a retired general, easily offended; small children who are protected by the god of children, so their ice cream cone seems certain to spill but never quite does …