☆ ☆ ☆ ½
Trafic
(1971) – J. Tati
M. Hulot is back and he is an automobile
designer. Of course, he gets into many jams (not all of them traffic
jams). Tati’s fifth and final outing as
Hulot is gently humorous as in M. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle but not as ambitious
or abstract as Playtime. Still, it is a
“nonverbal” comedy that features sound effects cranked up high on the
soundtrack and dialogue kept relatively low, as if it were unimportant. The plot involves getting a special camping
car from Paris to Amsterdam for an auto show.
Unsurprisingly, Hulot and his crew don’t make it on time. The movie is
all about the predicaments that they find themselves on the way. While not uproarious, Trafic is wry and
amusing and French. Nevertheless, I
think it is advisable to start in the beginning with Tati and move forward to
see his development over time; or in fact, to see how Hulot remains the same as
the context around him changes.
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