Human Traffic (1999)

Five friends spend one lost weekend in a mix of music, love and club culture.

Director:

Justin Kerrigan

Writer:

Justin Kerrigan

Stars:

John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes

9 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Simm	...	Jip
Lorraine Pilkington	...	Lulu
Shaun Parkes	...	Koop
Nicola Reynolds	...	Nina
Danny Dyer	...	Moff
Dean Davies	...	Lee
Peter Albert	...	Lulu's Uncle Eric
Jan Anderson	...	Karen Benson
Terence Beesley	...	Moff's Father
Sarah Blackburn	...	Jip's Ex #2
Anne Bowen	...	Moff's Grandmother
Neil Bowens	...	Asylum Doorman
Peter Bramhill	...	Matt
Jo Brand	...	Reality (voice)
Stephanie Brooks	...	Fleur

Storyline

The Cardiff club scene in the 90's: five best friends deal with their relationships and their personal demons during a weekend. Jip calls himself a sexual paranoid, afraid he's impotent. Lulu, Jip's mate, doesn't find much to fancy in men. Nina hates her job at a fast food joint, and her man, Koop, who dreams of being a great hip-hop d.j., is prone to fits of un-provoked jealousy. The fifth is Moff, whose family is down on his behavior. Starting Friday afternoon, with preparations for clubbing, we follow the five from Ecstacy-induced fun through a booze-laden come-down early Saturday morning followed by the weekend's aftermath. It's breakthrough time for at least three of them.

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Plot Keywords:

techno rave | f word | ketamine | kissing | methadone | 

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Taglines:

You won't know what hit you.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is another cut of film called Human Traffic Remixed. According to The Guardian there were rumors that Justin Kerrigan wasn't involved with edited version but the producer Allan Niblo was. There are also rumors that they had fallen out during the shoot. It is available on DVD in the UK

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Goofs

When Koop is selling records to the hip hop guy in the beginning of the movie, the needle jumps. The last time that we see Hip Hop Guy from Koop's perspective, the needle has jumped onto the slipmat, and then in the next shot, the needle jumps back off the slipmat.

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Quotes

Jip: I fucking hate this job man. We spend nine hours a day, five days a week incarcerated in this wanky fucking store, having to act like C-3PO to any wanker who wants to condescend to us. We have to brown nose the customers, then we get abused by some... mini fucking Hitler who just gives us stick all day.

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Alternate Versions

The US version was edited to remove certain cultural references that it was felt Stateside audiences would be unable to identify with. Notable amongst the changes was the removal of the "Summer of Love", late 80s/early 90s flashback sequence - complete with dummies, glowsticks, et al. Apparently this - and other refences - were thought to have been confusing for American youths whose similar "old school rave" period came rather more recently.

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Connections

References One Night Stand: Bill Hicks (1991)

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Soundtracks

My Fellow Boppers
Written by Felix Da Housecat (as F. Stalings Jnr)
Published by Copyright Control
Performed by Felix Da Housecat (as Felix Da Housekat)
Licensed courtesy of London Records 90 Ltd.

User Reviews

Accurate portrayal of club culture, the highs and the lows

Making a film about the 'chemical generation', those who live for the weekend, must have been a very hard enterprise. It would have to accurately reflect the lives and experiences of 'clubbers' and also appeal to a wider audience. Human Traffic just about achieves that.

It is certainly spot on in with it's observations and in it's accuracy. It's obvious the filmmakers have 'been there and done it'. If you are or were once like the people in this film, than there is so much to relate it. It's all there, often depicted humorously but not condescendingly. The fake euphoria of being on 'E'["in the end ,I just want to be happy, yeah ,that's it.....hang on, what the **** was I talking about?"]. The monged conversation at 4 am which seems deep and meaningful but is basically rubbish [ Star Wars being about drugs!]and gets more and more incoherent. Exchanging pleasantries with someone you only see in pubs and clubs and really can't stand. 'Coming up' suddenly at the same time as someone else and mumbling to each other what you're 'on' at the speed of light. Reminiscing how it was better in the 'old days' and is now too commercial and widespread. Doing it all for the first time and going off with a bunch of dodgy geezers who are suddenly your best mates. The thrill of finding the after party. The depressing, inexorable sense of returning to the reality.

The film's attitude to drugs is commendable, drug taking is simply something the characters do, and that's all. Nobody dies or is seriously ill ,and yet there is a sense that it doesn't really lead anywhere. "After all ,we'll not going to be doing this for ever, are we" says one character at the end.

The film falters a little when depicting the lives of it's protagonists. For many scenes, director Justin Kerrigan uses a kind of 'heightened reality', for instance in a scene when a character comments on how the workers in a fast food place are like robots and for a moment they 'become' actual robots. This approach does not always work, and it's a shame since the characters are all the sort you could expect to run into on a Friday night. We do care a bit about their respective lives and problems, but we don't really get to know the female characters properly, and what is really the main thrust of the plot, the blossoming romance between two of the main protagonists, is dwelled on too much and is somehow unconvincing,if sometimes quite sweet. The acting is generally OK if not great.

Human Traffic is not as important a film as, say, Trainspotting, which despite being about heroin addicts seemed to speak to a generation. Nonetheless, it's a truthful depiction of an element of society which films and TV either ignore or condescend to. Incidentally ,there are two versions, the director's edit and the later producer's edit. The latter, which cuts some footage, changes some music and adds some silly CGI, is inferior to the former.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 June 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

B oтрыв!

Filming Locations:

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$104,257

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$104,257

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irish Screen, Fruit Salad Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1