Traffic (2000)

A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is an addict.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Simon Moore (miniseries Traffik), Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)

Stars:

Benicio Del Toro, Jacob Vargas, Michael Douglas

Won 4 Oscars. Another 70 wins & 57 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Benicio Del Toro	...	Javier Rodriguez
Jacob Vargas	...	Manolo Sanchez
Andrew Chavez	...	Desert Truck Driver
Michael Saucedo	...	Desert Truck Driver
Tomas Milian	...	General Arturo Salazar
Jose Yenque	...	Salazar Soldier / The Torturer
Emilio Rivera	...	Salazar Soldier #2
Michael O'Neill	...	Lawyer Rodman
Michael Douglas	...	Robert Wakefield
Russell G. Jones	...	Clerk
Lorene Hetherington	...	State Capitol Reporter #1
Eric Collins	...	State Capitol Reporter #2
Beau Holden	...	DEA Agent - CalTrans
Peter Stader	...	DEA Agent - CalTrans
James Lew	...	DEA Agent - CalTrans

Storyline

A modern day look at America's war on drugs told through four separate stories that are connected in one way or another. A conservative judge who's just been appointed as the US drug czar learns that his teenage honor student daughter is a drug addict. A beautiful trophy wife struggles to save her wealthy husband's drug business, while two DEA agents protect a witness with inside knowledge of the spouse's business. In Mexico, a slightly corrupt, yet dedicated cop struggles with his conscience when he learns that his new boss may not be the anti-drug official he made himself out to be.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | judge | teenage daughter | witness | drug addict | 

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Taglines:

No One Gets Away Clean

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive drug content, strong language, violence and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

5 January 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Traffik

Filming Locations:

A-1 Self Storage, 1190-B W. Morena Boulevard, San Diego, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$48,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,245,665 (UK) (26 January 2001)

Gross:

$124,107,476 (USA) (6 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bedford Falls Productions, Compulsion Inc., Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After filming one day, actor James Brolin returned to his car to find two youths attempting to break in. Still in his general's uniform, he frightened away the would-be thieves, who mistook him for a real military officer.

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Goofs

Students at Cincinnati Country Day school do not wear uniforms. Also, the school building is considerably more modern. The scene that shows the school was actually shot at Walnut Hills.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Javier Rodriguez: [in Spanish] Last night I had an ugly nightmare.
Manolo Sanchez: [in Spanish] Oh yeah? What happened, man?

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Crazy Credits

Master of the 4-string Electric Bassius O' Phellius - Flea

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Connections

Featured in ... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Going Under (Love & Insanity Dub) - K&D Sessions"
Written by Glyn Bush, Richard Whittingham and Patrick Plummer
Performed by Rockers Hi-Fi
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc./Warner Music Company
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Soderbergh's best film is a thrilling ride...

The film more than delivers on every level and is certainly a lock for Best Picture of the year. Soderbergh has been on an astonishing roll, demonstrating exceptional versatility in his choice of genres and tremendous agility in balancing artistry with entertainment. He's been America's most consistently brilliant and unpredictable filmmaker for the last decade, and Traffic is the culminating work of his career. First and foremost, it's a richly entertaining epic that recalls the great works of the 1970s, when directors like Robert Altman and Francis Ford Coppola engaged mass audiences with works of genuine substance. Soderbergh works on a larger canvass than he's ever done before, bouncing several characters and plot-lines against and off each other, so that images and themes rhyme and echo. Although the subject matter is drug trafficking, this is not an "issues" movie per se. Instead, it's a profoundly affecting dramatic thriller where the destructive forces of drugs cut across different sections of society. What's most impressive about the direction is how Soderbergh manages to avoid both sentimentalizing and moralizing about drugs. As with Erin Brockovich, there's a graceful absence of self-importance and bombast in the presentation. However, this doesn't mean the film lacks a strong point of view.

Stylistically, this film represents a major breakthrough. Soderbergh shot the film himself (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) and Traffic takes all of his past experiments with color, available light, and hand-held work light-years beyond The Limey and Out of Sight. He has created a brilliant style that could best characterized as expressionistic naturalism. His loose hand-held style lends the film an extremely spontaneous realistic tone, but the modifications of color amplify the drama. Each storyline has its own distinct look that accentuates the emotions underlining the film. (The Mexico story involving Benicio Del Toro is told in earthy saturated yellows, the story of Michael Douglas and his daughter Erika Christensen is told in an aquarium blue, while the Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman-Don Cheadle story gets a natural available light look). In addition to being visually striking and cool in a completely unpretentious manner, Soderbergh's camera technique transcends mere virtuosity and actually becomes another character in the film. As usual with Soderbergh, the film is edited with musical verve and skill, where time is collapsed and expanded, and characters are seen reflecting on past actions.

I've been remiss in not discussing the acting earlier. This film has an amazing ensemble cast where everybody is working at the top of their game. However, Benicio Del Toro definitely stands out with the breakthrough performance. I don't think it's accidental that the movie begins and ends with shots of him. He plays Javier Rodriguez, a Mexican police officer caught in a futile and corrupt system, and it's as compelling of a character as Michael Corleone. Del Toro is exceptionally relaxed and subtle, keeping his thoughts and feelings private from the other characters in the films, but sharing it with the camera. Del Toro navigates the audience through a world of impossible choices and moral corruption, quietly simmering with intense conflict just beneath the surface. Benicio's been an indie stalwart for years, but this film should shoot his stock through the roof. If there's justice in this world, he'll be rewarded with Best Actor Awards aplenty.

Michael Douglas is also terrific, adding another strong performance to his gallery of flawed men in power. He shows genuine fear and vulnerability in a harrowing scene in which he searches for his daughter in a drug dealer's den. I've never seen Erika Christensen before, but she makes an impressive debut. Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman (they should star as a team in every movie!) are as loose, limber and spontaneous as ever, providing plenty of comic relief as well as keeping it real. Catherine Zeta-Jones takes a complete 180 from her past roles and admirably plays against her looks, appearing very pregnant while thrown into gritty surroundings. Dennis Quaid is appropriately slimy as a corrupt lawyer.

Anyway, film geeks and anybody else starved for a genuine piece of filmmaking should breathe a sigh of relief and give thanks that Soderbergh has come to save the day.