Jacques Tati's final Hulot film concerns an attempt to get a camper car from Paris to the Amsterdam car show. Its Hulot on the road.

Made in the wake of the disastrous reception of Play Time this was Tati pretty much doing a contract work to get some money. The result is a less refined film than either of his previous two films, much of the film being less precise gags and set pieces, rather its the insanity of just getting from here to there. Filled with people this is possibly the most alive of the four Hulot films. There are what passes for close ups and we we see everyone as individuals and not merely as ants marching in sterile environments. Its a real world film something none of the preceding Hulot films really is.

For those who have seen the three previous films this is a film where details are filled in. Where Mon Oncle had Hulot looking for a new job, here we see the one that he finds, working in auto design. We also get to finally see his ever present umbrella opened. Most interesting is the fact that there is perhaps a hint of romance or if not real romance the sense that he is not an isolated human being. This is the film where the character finally comes to life as something more than a character.

For many people this is a lesser Tati film. It doesn't have the ideas of the previous two films. Outside of the camping car there is no real set piece to make your intellect marvel. The film is not a mediation of grand ideas, there are some, but when you get down to it its a comedy. A real laugh out loud comedy that is almost the exact opposite of Play Time where most of the humor brings smiles but not belly laughs.

I think its a very good film. Certainly its not his best, I would have to say that would be Hulot's Holiday since it mixes the intellectual humor with the belly laugh. This I would probably put as second simply because I genuinely laughed repeatedly at this film, something I didn't do with Mon Oncle and Play Time. I think a good argument could be made for the film being better than its reputation (The laughs, the sense of life and people, and even the lack of pretension). I will agree its not a great film, it does suffer from the meandering that Play Time and Oncle have, but it is a funny one.

If you like any of the earlier films see this movie. If you like funny comedies I also suggest you try this film. It may not go down as your favorite film but I'm pretty sure you will laugh at it, which is all I think it was ever designed to do.

This is certainly not an unpleasant movie to watch but for a comedy it's just too much lacking in its fundamental required ingredients.

Jacques Tati movies are all always being very subtle. Too subtle for my taste. It really takes its time to set up its comical moments, that often fall flat. There is just not an awful lot happening in this movie and comical-wise its surely lacking. Luckily the movie still has a pleasant, fun sort of atmosphere, which still made me enjoy watching this movie. And Tati movies are often movies you just have to watch, rather than paying too much attention for any of its story or acting in it.

This movie was initially intended to be made with the collaboration of Dutch Oscar winner Bert Haanstra. I had never realized this before but Tati and Haanstra were actually two film-makers that were very much alike with their style and approach of film-making, with a big difference that I like Haanstra way better than Tati. Both are being subtle and observant with their movies but Tati movies often feature slapstick humor, while Haanstra movies are more comical in its subtle observance's of real human behavior and its nature. He was also a director that got best known and got most critical acclaim for his documentaries. So while Tati movies are all being forced and staged, Haanstra movies are more realistic with its approach and therefore its subtlety also works out better. You can definitely tell which sequences in this movie got done by Bert Haanstra but you obviously have to be familiar with his work to recognize it. Appereantly he and Jacques Tati did not get along very well, or they had some creative differences so Haanstra left the project before it finished.

It's the last movie to feature the Monsieur Hulot character, from Tati. A comedy slapstick character that got portrayed by Jaceques Tati himself, in a handful of movies, over the decades. I never was too impressed with the character but he still had his biggest successes with it and his movie "Mon oncle" even won an Oscar for best foreign picture, while Tati himself also got nominated once, for his writing on the other Monsieur Hulot movie, "Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot". The character however never really plays the main part in his movies and they focus more on the events and surroundings around him, while often being a social commentary as well.

You can definitely call this movie the least original Monsieur Hulot movie, in terms of its creativity. Guess that Tati really ran out of good ideas and had sort of lost his touch, also after taking some financial blows with his previous movies. You can often see the comical moments in this movie coming from miles away and when they hit, they certainly don't hit as strong and funny as you would hope and perhaps also would expect.

Certainly not an unpleasant movie to watch and Tati's subtlety isn't as annoying as is the case with some of his other movies but for a comedy it's still surely lacking in some good strong humor.

6/10

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Tati's final theatrical film, which is often considered his greatest failure, is in actuality nearly as good as his masterpieces. In this film, Tati stars for the fourth and final time as M. Hulot. This time he has a job as an automobile designer, and it is his job to get his company's new Camping Car to Amsterdam for a big auto show. Accompanying him is a driver, François, and a public relations worker, Maria (played marvelously by Maria Kimberly, who reminds us of the great lead actress roles played by Nathalie Pascaud and Barbara Denneck in M. Hulot's Holiday and Playtime respectively). Maria drives around in a little yellow convertible with her little fur-ball dog. Its fast and maneuverable. It can go pretty much anywhere it wants. Unfortunately, François and M. Hulot are driving a large truck. They often get into trouble when they're trying to follow Maria's car. Every problem that can happen does. Many observations are made about how people act when they're in their cars on the highway (it's a non-stop traffic jam from Paris to Amsterdam). The jokes in Traffic are always hilarious. The first fifteen or twenty minutes are somewhat dry of them, which is mainly why I don't rank this one up there with M. Hulot's Holiday, Mon Oncle, and Playtime (it's about even with Jour de fête). But when it gets going, it never stops. And it's beautiful, too, just as all of his other films. The final sequence is sublime, and the final shot will stay with me forever. 9/10.