Trafic

Trafic (Criterion #439). 1971 Janus Films & StudioCanal.
Starring: Jacques Tati, Tony Knepper, Franco Ressell, Mario Zanuelli, Maria Kimberly
Director: Jacques Tati
Buy Trafic at Amazon. Not to be confused with Traffic starring Michael Douglas.

Monsieur Hulot (Tati) returns for his fourth and final film appearance in this 1971 comedy about the French auto industry. In Trafic, Mr. Hulot is employed as an auto company's director of design, and he personally accompanies his new vehicle, a camper loaded with absurd gadgets, to an auto show in Amsterdam. The car was completed at a very late time, so it doesn't run, so it's loaded into the back of a truck. A series of ill-timed flat tires, breakdowns, traffic jams, and multi-car pileups, as well as M. Hulot's general comic ineptitude, make the simple trip all the more difficult.

I really like this movie. It's beautifully shot, and the many visual gags are hilarious. It also doesn't hurt that there's quite a few scenes filmed near, or on French highways, which appeals to the roadgeek in me. Highly recommended.

(Eventually, I'll review the other M. Hulot movies, just not in chronological order.)