In this film - the 16th by director Otar Iosseliani - a man named Vincent leaves behind his wife, his mother, and his two sons for a few days. At first he just gets away to see his estranged father but then he ends up on a train with a couple bottles of wine and heads of Venice Italy. Along the way he encounters many people, drinks more wine and finds himself in many humorous and interesting situations.

Much like Jacques Tati and Jim Jarmusch director Otar Iosseliani's humor consists of a lot of well-timed sight gags and mostly wordless vignettes.He stages each scene from a comfortable distance and has a dearth of editing, which gives the film a natural unhurried rhythm But unlike the mannerism of these other directors the action in Iosseliani's film is a lot more lively and life like.

The subplots of the film revolve around the family's lives and how they deal with the disappearence of their father, which seems to be minimal because they simply carry on as if he never left. His older son - who seems he will follow in his father's footsteps - is an aspiring artist who has a crush on a female classmate who hangs around him.

At 122 minutes Monday Morning plays a bit long and the gags are not laugh-out -loud-funny yet they are pleasant enough to keep the film in a positive light. Plus all of the characters have a particular enjoyable and quirky side that keeps the film from getting to serious.

Video:
The transfer looks good and is presented in 1.66:1 with a 16 x 9. The image is a bit soft and not too sharp. In this way it looks like film.

Audio:
Audio is in French with English subtitles but there is not much dialogue.

Extras:
Special features only include a screen text director interview as well as the original theatrical trailer.

Overall:
Monday Morning is a likable droll comedy about a man who takes a break from his job and family for a while. The DVD is unremarkable but has a good transfer. The filmmaker's film are rarely seen in the US and this is a good place to start.