...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.
Trafic (1971)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Trafic
... an imaginative, clever, gently humorous spoof of car culture and the drivers who are stuck in its gridlock
Jacques Tati's Trafic serves as a scaled-down but inescapably fitting companion piece to its predecessor, the monumental Playtime.
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.
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.
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.
While the plotlessness and lack of dialogue may take some getting used to for the uninitiated, Tati's sense of humour quickly becomes addictive.
Everyone is incapable of dealing with the modern world, but Mr. Hulot is even worse off than the rest of us.
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