Trafic

With 1971's Trafic, the great French film comedian Jacques Tati bid a modest yet worthy farewell to M. Hulot, the beloved character he brought vividly to life in the previous classics M. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime. A keen observer of human nature during the course of rapid technological advancement, Tati's Trafic is another gag-laden amusement centering on modern foibles—in this case our obsessive dependence on the automobile. The result is a loose, languid comedy that's widely considered to be one of Tati's lesser efforts, but is still a gently entertaining road movie with frequent detours. Here, sporting his trademark overcoat, rumpled hat, and pipe, Hulot is the designer of a newfangled, gadget-heavy “Camper Car” that promises to be the hit of the International Auto Show in Amsterdam…but the car isn't in running condition yet, leaving its maker with no choice but to transport the vehicle using a lorry that constantly breaks down en route from Paris to Amsterdam. That's basically it, plot-wise, leaving plenty of room for Tati's inventive sight gags, which often illustrate how humans tend to lose all common sense behind the wheels of their cars. Ultimately, even though Trafic suffers mildly in comparison to Tati's previous Hulot comedies, it's still a happy enough farewell that maintains the spirit of the earlier films. Criterion's two-disc set includes three outstanding DVD extras sure to be relished by Tati fans: a 1973 French TV episode in which Tati demonstrates his observational genius, a 1971 interview with the cast of Trafic, and—the centerpiece—the feature-length 1989 documentary In the Footsteps of M. Hulot, directed by Tati's daughter Sophie Tatischeff. Recommended. (J. Shannon)