ridiculous rating

not horrible nor great

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Trafic certainly isn't the last film by Jacques Tati, but it sure is the last successful and well known one. Mostly because it is his last film with his standard character, Monsier Hulot. After Trafic Tati still directed the television Sweden-France co production Parade (1974) and started making the sports-documentary Forza Bastia, which his daughter, Sophie Tatischeff edited and finished in 2002. But I personally like to see Trafic as his last film, as his cinematic legacy.The plot of Trafic is very simple; Mr. Hulot, car driver and the PR girl have to take a new car to an exhibition in Amsterdam. They arrive few days late - the only actual exhibition is at the customs. The world of Jacques Tati is full of gags, he doesn't spend much time with his stories, but he writes his gags for years. And the pleasantly surprising thing is how the gags are made - they aren't taken too far, as they often are in comedies of today. Dozens of events happen at the same time, dozens of people get in these and by coincidence they come across with each other.The destruction of old core values and habitat have been common themes for Jacques Tati. But in Play Time (1967) and Trafic (1971) he goes far deeper in the mechanization of life. Play Time showed us the futuristic Paris cursed by globalization. It would be too superficial to see Play Time simply just as a satire of urban living and modern society. In Trafic we see that Tati doesn't build that big a difference between urban and rural living. People come across with same kind of situations, troubles and madness. I think Play Time is his highest achievement and it's so much more than just a satire about modern society. In Play Time's postmodern Paris and in Trafic's highway the individual finds the very same challenges.Trafic is basically a satire about mass industry - cars are built and built so long until the consumers are satisfied, which will never happen. This is the age people live their lives with avarice. Just as Mon oncle so is Trafic about consumer hysteria - the customs scene is a great example of this. The mechanization of life is the main theme in Play Time and in Trafic - in Trafic, once again, the customs scene is the greatest example of this, but it can be seen in just about every scene. For instance the randomness of relationships, which is a reflection of the twisted relation between work and the mechanization of life.

As a big fan of Jacques Tati, it's terribly sad for me to state, that this film is surely his worst. And what's worse, compared to all his other classics, this one hasn't aged well.I won't blame Tati for this, because after the financial disaster with the production of Playtime, it must have been extremely difficult to find investors again.The obvious problem with Trafic is, that it's not a french comedy, but a french-belgian-dutch one. And this simply doesn't work. The plot line is hazardous, the supporting (amateur) actors are completely uninspired and surely far from any sort of "direction". The characters remain obscure and two-dimensional - even the one played by Jacques Tati himself - and do not manage to raise the viewer's interest or sympathy.Jokes are badly and horribly slowly timed, the choreography, one of Tati's masterly domains, is wooden and uninspired. Worst of all is the editing, which is incredible. Scenes are cut and linked without any sense. I doubt that Jacques Tati can be held responsible for that. Anyway, this is just one big disappointment, and anyone who loves Tati's movies should stay away from this one. It makes your heart break to see, how bad a Tati movie can be.Three stars are definitely three too many... but it's Jacques Tati...

I didn't know what to expect when I went to see this movie many years ago. I was delightfully surprised. This is a very funny movie, but it is subtle in it's kookie-ness.Two men have developed a new camping van and have set out to take it to an outdoors show. This should be an ordinary trip full of coffee, donuts and long boring stretches of road. But no, this does not take place in America; it starts in Paris and the goal is Amsterdam. Much can happen along such a route, and in this case, just about everything does.Will they make it there before the show has ended? Will their dreams of being successful come to pass? These are the driving questions of this movie. They seem rather uninteresting goals, don't they? Nevertheless, these characters will likely win you over and have you rooting for them as they make their bumbling stab at entrepreneurship. Or, just as likely, you may find yourself enjoying every obstacle that steps in their way, as I did.Much is unexpected in this movie and that's what makes it fun! Share this one with your friends and they will thank you.Note: this is a comedy, there's not much gore or street fights, shoot-outs or bombs taking out city blocks, so be forewarned, this movie with not shake your subwoofer.Although not a spy movie, it somewhat reminds me of the original "Tall Blonde Man with One Black Shoe": another wonderful French comedy.

Really only for Tati fans. A sentimental journey for Hulot, his send-off. The scene in which the mechanic and Hulot mime the moonwalk, playing behind them on tv, sums it all up -- and is the only time one of Tati's explicit mime performances is really good.Re-watchable.