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Trafic

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Trafic (1971)

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Reviews Counted: 12

Fresh: 12

Rotten:0

Average Rating: 8.1/10

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Jacques Tati's beleaguered and oblivious alter ego Mr. Hulot returns for his fourth screen appearance in this ridiculous and sublime automobile-focused film. Cars and drivers, present as subplots... Jacques Tati's beleaguered and oblivious alter ego Mr. Hulot returns for his fourth screen appearance in this ridiculous and sublime automobile-focused film. Cars and drivers, present as subplots in Tati's previous comedies, take center stage in TRAFFIC. In his latest incarnation, Hulot is a vehicle designer at the Parisian firm Altra. Having recently completed the prototype for a Rube Goldberg mousetraplike ultraconvenient camper van, Hulot and Altra's pesky public relations girl, Maria (Maria Kimberly), embark to bring their newest creation to an auto show in Holland. The eagle eye of Tati's airtight humor follows Hulot on his doomed path to Amsterdam; he runs out of gas, has various accidents and engine difficulties, and invokes the wrath of both the police and customs officers. Interspersed between gags are seemingly documentary visions of French motorists picking their noses, being mimicked by their own windshield wipers, and generally causing trouble. Minimal dialogue, spectacular visual puns, and an awe-inspiring balletlike car crash complete the Tati take on car-and-driver culture. [More]

Starring: Jacques Tati, Maria Kimberly, Marcel Fraval, Honore Bostel

Starring: Jacques Tati, Maria Kimberly, Marcel Fraval, Honore Bostel, Francois Maisongross, Tony Knepper

Director: Jacques Tati

Director: Jacques Tati

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Release:

Jul 15, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • In Jacques Tati's Trafic, the bumbling Monsieur Hulot, outfitted as always with tan raincoat, beaten brown hat, and umbrella, takes to Paris's highways and byways. For this, his final outing, Hulot is employed as an auto company's director of design, and accompanies his new vehicle (a camper tricked out with absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally, the road is paved with modern-age mishaps. This late-career delight is a masterful demonstration of the comic genius's expert timing and sidesplitting visual gags, and a bemused last look at technology run amok.
  • Source: Criterion Collection
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    Reviews for Trafic

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    1 - 12 (sorted by date)
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    ...in the breezy vapor that amounts to the movie's plot, it's not the destination that counts, but the leisurely, amiably aimless travel you take getting there.

    Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
    02/02/09
    Mark Bourne
    Film.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    ... an imaginative, clever, gently humorous spoof of car culture and the drivers who are stuck in its gridlock

    Full Review Source: Turner Classic Movies Online | comment Comment
    08/27/08
    Sean Axmaker
    Turner Classic Movies Online

    An enjoyable classic in choreographed sight gags about gridlock.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    07/22/08
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Jacques Tati's Trafic serves as a scaled-down but inescapably fitting companion piece to its predecessor, the monumental Playtime.

    Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
    07/14/08
    Bill Weber
    Slant Magazine

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/05/08
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com

    Not Tati's best but still has magical moments.

    comment Comment
    01/17/08
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org

    Tati, who's brilliant at commenting on modernization, here again provides insights into modern life that make for one of the freshest and funniest pictures to hit the screen in years.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    A masterpiece in its own right -- not only for the sharp picture of the frenetic and gimmick-crazy civilization that worships cars, but also for many remarkable formal qualities.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    Jonathan Rosenbaum
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Like Godard, Tati is also remarkably appreciative of the odd beauty that can be revealed in the shapes, patterns and colors created by the technology of planned obsolescence.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    Vincent Canby
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It’s familiar, and nonetheless spirited and inventive.

    Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    Rumsey Taylor
    Not Coming to a Theater Near You

    While the plotlessness and lack of dialogue may take some getting used to for the uninitiated, Tati's sense of humour quickly becomes addictive.

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    Channel 4 Film

    Everyone is incapable of dealing with the modern world, but Mr. Hulot is even worse off than the rest of us.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    11/14/07
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
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