Traffic (1971)

 Jacques Tati's "Traffic"

Within the first several minutes of Jacques Tati's "Traffic," I was struck by how similar in tone, theme, and visual execution it was to "Playtime." Because of this, I was almost turned off immediately. Why retread the same ground? However, as the film progressed, I found "Traffic" to be far more chaotic and less particular in the minute execution as its predecessor. Unlike its predecessor, which seemed to have much a greater sense of tactfulness and ever-present creative control, this one seemed almost as confused and uncertain in the vast landscape of modernity as its characters.

"Traffic" operates like traffic itself. Everyone seems to be in a great, big hurry and are constantly misaligned in communication with everyone else. Our cast is comprised of various nationalities of character who all don't quite speak the same language as one another. The vast array of confusion and misunderstandings allow for Tati's comedy to really thrive, of course. But the central idea of the film is that the rapid modernization of our world has quite a dizzying effect.

I noticed that, by the end of the film, "Traffic" pulls away from "Playtime" through its lack of thematic and visual purpose. This isn't a criticism, by the way. I'm simply saying that Tati's meticulousness for controlled chaos was replaced with a more languid chaos. His coordinated visual ballet was replaced with jazz. The payoffs to visual gags were replaced with more of a sense of purposelessness. "Traffic" felt more like a film that completely unraveled before you, exposing the uncertainty of where this industrialized society was destined.

To say that "Traffic" isn't as meticulously arranged would be completely incorrect. Obviously, Tati is a perfectionist. So, the film is undoubtably arranged with the upmost care and consideration. However, the lack of cohesion is entirely the point. It demonstrates an entire society with a lack of cohesion. 

Because of the uncertainty and frenetic anxiety that permeates the film, there is almost a spiritual element to its madness. There are moments of real human connection through all the miscommunications and social fracturing. One moment that comes to mind is when two characters, both different in nationality and language, start to mimic the moon-walking of the Apollo 11 astronauts after witnessing them on television for the first time.

To me, these little moments of human connection break the viewer out of the jazz-induced hellscape of modern chaos. This is especially true at the end when Mr. Hulot walks home with the American woman. They are pure moments of bliss amongst the interminable noise and mania of modernity. To me, that's exactly how modernity feels. There are endless jobs to be at, places to go, cars to fix, things to make, music blasting, news, etc. that make us feel frazzled and unable to be humans. "Traffic" is able to pinpoint the feeling itself of being alive in the modern world.