Traffic: Criterion Collection
Director: Jacques Tati
Cast: Jacques Tati, Maria Kimberly, Marcel Fraval, Honore Bostel, François Maisongross
(1971) Rated: N/A
US DVD release date: 15 July 2008 (Criteron)
by Kate Williams
In the vast marketplace that comprises world cinema, comedy is not an easily exportable product. Action flicks, superheroes, cartoons and horror films are more often relied on to deliver the goods and draw international audiences into their local cinemas. Outside specific sub-genres (like broad, physical-based comedy or romantic comedy), the humor of many comedic films seems to quickly and easily get lost in translation. The commercial and financial success of many of today's top Hollywood's comedic stars—Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, and Vince Vaughn—seems limited to the shores of the United States, as their films routinely earn significantly less (on average) abroad than they do at home.
Comedic film stars, historically speaking, who have enjoyed success and a truly international acclaim—brought about from their skilled artistry as performers and their unique ability to brand an indelible presence or character into the heart of popular culture—are a very select (i.e., ridiculously and shamefully small) group. If pressed to name such stars, many cinemagoers would undoubtedly recite the usual suspects: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Peter Sellers.
One name that rightfully belongs on that short list of international comedy heavyweights is Jacques Tati, the acclaimed French filmmaker, writer and star. Outside of Europe his name may not be as widely known and his work not as commercially familiar to general movie-going audiences, but the strength of Tati's talent and his lasting artistic contributions to world cinema are indisputable.
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