In a huge traffic congestion on the Rome highway, people and cars are trapped for hours. Their stories link together in a funny and grotesque portrait of Italy in the 1970s. But as time goes by, comedy gives place to drama and to a violent social satire of modern times.

Following in the footsteps of Jacques Tati and Jean-Luc Godard, Luigi Comencini stages an absurdist vision of social collapse through the lens of a major road incident. With an all-star cast that includes Marcello Mastroianni, Traffic Jam casts a darkly satirical eye over its automotive apocalypse.