Trafic
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 11, 1972 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
84
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
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. Read full review
100
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Traffic is 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: an extraordinary use of sound (always one of Tati’s strong points), a complex interplay of chance and control in the observations of everyday behavior, and, in some spots, a development of the use of multiple focal points to articulate some of the funniest gags. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard Roeper
Tati is actually a silent comedian; his films are made with an amusing mixture of languages, but no one says anything very important and he doesn’t use subtitles because then we might read them and miss a sight gag. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
A pileup of technology, population movement, and dehumanization, traffic is a natural subject for writer-director-star Jacques Tati, whose perceptive pratfall comedies are often concerned with how our humanity gets lost in the particulars of “progress.” Read full review
88
Slant MagazineBill Weber
If Playtime’s enormous scope was visionary, here Tati’s tone is that of a bemused, unshakably certain philosopher. Read full review
88
USA TodayMike Clark
Drivers congest highways, while many of their cars inevitably end up as twisted scrap. The final Monsieur Hulot comedy from France's Jacques Tati couldn't possibly be more topical. [18 Jul 2008, p.13D]
83
Portland OregonianDouglas Perry
Trafic is a relative trifle but nevertheless delightful. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyTim Purtell
There’s a balletic car crash, a faux-dead-dog gag, a joke involving a baby’s bare bum, and…oh, treat yourself and see it. Read full review
80
The New York TimesVincent Canby
For all of the laughter in "Traffic," there are moments when the banal utilitarianism of the super-highway is seen as a work of extraordinary art. Read full review
60
The New YorkerPauline Kael
As a comic figure, Tati had a nice spare buoyancy in Jour de fete and Hulot's Holiday, but here his whimsical bumbling seems precious and fatuous.
60
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Admirers of Playtime won't be too disappointed, but for the Tati heretic it's a long, slow haul between the occasional brilliant gag. Read full review
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