THREE YEARS ago, I was in Jakarta participating in the 33rd Indonesian Architecture Student Meeting. At the opening ceremony, a professor asked, what is architecture? Of course, because it was easy, many participants raised their hands. Each student conveyed his understanding, but what kept me awake from sleepiness was the professor's opinion, "architecture is simple, architecture is a story." As a literary lover and aware that architects are not a way of life, I was curious. The professor continued to explain that the concepts we make all come from stories, he said. This year, I have received a lot of new understanding about architecture, not just a matter of aesthetics and function.
Avianti Armand, an architect from Indonesia, in her book Arsitektur yang Lain: Sebuah Kritik Arsitektur, said that Architecture is something that is invisible. The meaning is not aesthetics, maybe taste. A sense of the space created. Whatever it is, I agree that architecture must be able to answer all the problems of human space.
I remembered the story above, when I watched this film by Jaqcues Tati and after that the question arose, why is this film titled Mon Oncle (1958-Franch), which means my uncle?
An uncle is a hero to a child who lives with both rich and annoying parents. In a modern house, the child is required to be perfect and he does not feel what he should feel, love and play with friends. There is no room for children in that house.
Tati managed to show what was forgotten about modern architecture. All the spaces in the house are made for adults. We can see the child is so happy outside the house. Home is the place to come home and we must feel at home there. The surrounding houses are also tightly closed by a fence, as if they are away from social life.
The modern house featured in this film is indeed simple and luxurious. It looks spacious because all the furniture and furniture are made according to your needs and also with a unique style. Of course, the most ridiculous thing is the fountain scene: the homeowner will only turn on the fountain when guests arrive. What was annoying was that the house owner couldn't see who was coming because it was covered by a fence.
From the scene of a dog dressed in through the gap in the fence into the house and a group of other dogs just peeking, I immediately thought this was about rich and poor, that the rich could only build such a house. However, slowly I was brought into the collision between old and new; modern and traditional.
Uncle character in this film, not many say. However, he has many interactions with people, both modern and traditional. He works as a mediator. But the uncle had a lot of trouble interacting with modern items and people.
In this film, it is shown how a "way" means a lot in modern architecture; how to open a garage, how to open a fence, how to walk into the garden and all of that presents very chaotic distress to the householder.
We should not ignore the function and aesthetics of architecture, but all of that means nothing if taste doesn't work. I agree, a feeling that makes a home beautiful; feel good, feel at ease. And I never imagined that a mistake in the world of architecture would be turned into a story and told through a film.
Source photo:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6mf28a
http://www.thecinessential.com/mon-oncle
http://www.studiodesursulines.com/film/mon-oncle/