Variations on a classical documentary short subject number four. Traffic problems. They made a lot of these in the 50s and 60s when increasing numbers moved to the cities, where the booming economy afforded more and more people the means to buy a car, with predictable results. From today’s perspectives, most of this looks tame – back then, those mildly congested main thoroughfares in rush hour were the sight of Armageddon rising. While the majority of this genre deals with traffic safety and education in often humorous and sometimes menacing tones, this one, being a Werner film, is more of a mellow reminder of how much nicer and easier city life still could be so if only more of its inhabitants took public transport. Rest assured though, staple moments of this subject such as the honking joke or some sensual interaction under strange circumstances are also provided.

Olaf Möller and Jon Wengström