Traffic

2000 "No one gets away clean"
7.6| 2h27m| R| en| More Info
Released: 27 December 2000 Released
Producted By: Bedford Falls Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

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Reviews

Diagonaldi Very well executed
Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
mr_diken One could mention many positive points about this movie but for me the most important attribute is its wider approach to the phenomenon. It tells the stories of almost all sides of the "business" so that one can get the vantage points of all sides. Moreover, it stands equidistant to those. I don't know any other example of this.
Amy Adler In the year 2000, a new USA drug czar has been appointed, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas). As a former well-regarded judge from Ohio, Bobby has the credentials and the smarts to try new approaches to fighting drug trafficking. But, he soon learns, its complicated. Meanwhile, his own daughter Caroline, an intelligent, beautiful sixteen year old, is experimenting with drugs with her boyfriend, Seth (Topher Grace) and his gang. Her parents seem not to know. Also, a Mexican police officer, Javier (Benicio Del Toro) works for a small salary to try to stop the huge cartels from sending their wares to the USA. A good guy, Javier suspects his bosses are in bed with the traffickers. He witnesses torture. Lastly, rich beautiful Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones) lives the good life in an exclusive community near San Diego. Her husband, Carl (Steven Bauer) is, to her knowledge, a hydroponic fruit grower and exporter. But, he's really the kingpin of drug smuggling in Southern California and well protected with his own lawyer (Dennis Quaid). Yet, police, especially Gordon (Don Cheadle) , determined to find out who he is, captures an underling and makes him talk. Now, Carl is arrested and the business is shut down. Helena, unaware of her husband's profession, receives threats against her five year old darling son and jumps into the fray to save her wealthy existence, despite being six months pregnant. Man, is this one tough lady who has no scruples about bumping off witnesses. Far away, Robert travels the country to learn how he can change the drug smuggling, Caroline disappears into the underground world of drugs, and Javier does the tap dance of a lifetime to stay alive. Who will make it in a dangerous, dangerous situation? This complex, amazing film, surely the best on drug trafficking ever, has a mesmerizing, four-tiered plot and a wonderful, huge cast. Everything it takes to make a movie terrific is here; cast, script, costumes, scenery, cinematography, and direction. One more important ingredient is its ambiguity, for it tells a tale and makes no judgments of what is right or wrong, for the most part. Do you love thrillers with a profound impact? Traffic is this and more.
fdalmolin I personally think that Traffic has aged really well. Firstly, that's because of the intricate and still modern plot that involves a lot of deep characters very well portrayed. Most of all, the performances of Benicio Del Toro (as Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez), Michael Douglas (as Robert Wakefield) and the debuting Erika Christensen (as Robert's daughter) were absolutely stunning. Douglas stands out with the character of the new head of DEA Wakefield who at the end resignes from his post because of several reasons. For example, his daughter ends up in an addiction from cocaine and he decides to stand by her side. He also thinks that the war against drugs can't be won, because it's an endless cycle and when you think that you finally defeated it, it is actually just getting worse. Finally, I also appreciated the experiments with filters (blue, yellow and neutral) and light. Even if in some cases I found them a little bit too exaggerated, I think that they add drama to the story and that they help the audience distinguish the three main stories.
liamsroberts When Traffic came out it won 4 Oscars including Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. I was looking forward to seeing it in film class because of all the recognition it gets. In the end I don't think Traffic is quite as good as people say it is. One flaw that stuck out for me was that at times the pacing dragged a little bit, specifically when it cuts to Catherine Zeta-Jones' character. I didn't latch to her character as much as the other characters like Benicio Del Toro's character. But the story of this movie is the most interesting part about this movie. It shows you different sides of the war on drugs and it is still a relevant topic which is why it has aged very well. One of the best parts of the movie is the arc of Michael Douglas' character. In the beginning of the film he is on the anti-drugs side of the war but towards the end he finds out that his daughter is a crack addict and then he drops out of his position. Reasons he dropped was because he can't fight a war where he has to fight his own family, he would rather support his daughter rather than be at work all day and even if he would win the war someone will eventually start it up again. Steven Soderbergh chose a very interesting choice on how the movie looks. When it is in Mexico it is very over exposed and when it takes place in Washington it has a blue tint to it. It didn't add that much to the story but it was an interesting directing choice.