Traffic
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Movie Reviews of Traffic
Movie Review: Powerful film
Summary: 4 Stars
This is an intense and gritty though brief cross-section of the "war on drugs". (Although after watching, you may be tempted to call it the so-called "war on drugs".) Michael Douglas is Wakefield, a judge who thinks that pushing treatment options balances out his heavily pro-prosecution leanings in narcotics cases. Wakefield's beautiful and intelligent daughter (Erika Christensen) herself is slowly falling under the spell of drugs and, by the film's end, proves capable of doing anything for a hit. Pegged to become the next Federal Drug Czar, Wakefield's strategy depends on bringing his brand of justice to Mexico where the lines between the law and the criminals frequently blurs if not disappears altogether. (If you're car is stolen, Mexican police will tell you who has to be paid before they can "find" your car.) The plan's master flaw in law enforcement strategies is that the drug war in Mexico is more complicated than simply cops v. dealers. On the illicit side of the war, the conflict is not seen as one between the law and law breakers, but between different cartels - each jockeying to enlist corrupt police and military leaders in their favor. (Mexican law enforcement, a character observes, is an entrepreneurial pursuit.) A seemingly fearless and moral Tijuana cop, Javier Rodriguez (Del Toro), discovers this when reluctantly co-opted into the larger drug war by the mythic General Salazar. Salazar's methods require a fair amount of psyche-warfare against friend and foe alike (suspected traitors dig their own graves while prisoners with information are swamped with kindness so they'll turn). When Rodriguez suspects Salazar's crackdown to be cover for one supposedly crushed cartel to regroup, he breaches security and runs for the Americans. Linking American narcotics officers and the Mexicans is a south-California businessman Carlos Ayala, (Steve Bauer) whose various corporations amount to a shell game used to conceal a vast drug empire. When one of Ayala's underlings Ruiz, (Miguel Ferrer - the one whose script lines are meant to convey the futility of the drug war) is arrested on the eve of a massive coke bust, Ayala gets arrested as well, and it falls onto his now besieged wife (a very pregnant Catherine Zeta Jones) to save the family. Soon, she learns that this will require her to restore its links to the drug trade, by all means necessary.
Though freely taking shots at the drug-war, "Traffic" doesn't so much push a point as tell a story, leaving us to base our own conclusions (the only difference is that we'll now have to think twice about them). Soderbergh directs his characters well - the performances are actually understated for a film this topical. Each of the story arcs has its own special cinematography highlighting the seeming distance from the drug war's front lines and the after-effects of a hit: the Wakefield story is generally shot in cool blue colors with static shots and high-grain film, implying a clear frame of mind. Zeta-Jone's scenes are filmed in a sunny yellow, using smooth shots but quick cuts - hinting at how the orderliness of her life is on the verge of collapse. Best of all are Mexican scenes, shot in very grainy film using harsh yellow filters - never letting us forget the harsh pressures and ceaseless anxiety that hounds those at the source of the drug economy. Soderbergh further flavors the mix with a low-grade electronic score which seems both from an episode of "In Search Of..." yet perfectly balanced for this film. Even the captions seem to date the film to the 1970s (using typed captions instead of computer characters, as if the film were completed a week after "The Andromed Strain"). This was a powerful film for so many reasons, not the least of which is the way it mirrors its subject - it draws you in and blows your mind.
Movie Review: At times gripping, at times kind of slow
Summary: 4 Stars
I still don't understand the love for Crash, the recent film centering on the racism issue. It seemed like a film that had a couple good ideas but they were featured in a bad movie which makes its win for Best Picture all the more confusing. That film for some reason reminded me of Traffic which centers on another important issue; this one being about the drug war and its effects on addicts and non-addicts. While you can obviously tell Traffic is an important film and it is indeed a good one, it's also slightly marred by erratic pacing and a bit of uninteresting characters.
The film, unlike let's say, Magnolia or Short Cuts, is 3 separate storylines with one thing in common: the drug trade. In one story set in Ohio, Robert Wakefield is the newly-appointed "drug czar" crusading against decreasing the amount of drugs in the country. However, he has a daughter that's quickly starting to get addicted. In San Diego, Helena sees her husband arrested while she's unaware he's a key player in the drug trade with another captured by DEA agents who is going to testify. And finally in Mexico, a highway patrol cop gets involved in the corruption between drug cartels and the want for control of the drugs going in and out of Mexico and the US.
To help the audience differentiate the different places, a color code has been given to each segment. The Wakefield story looks so unbelievably blue that you wouldn't be surprised if character blood looked blue too. San Diego looks more traditional but a bit overexposed making it more brighter while Mexico looks like an indie movie with a very gritty and raw feel and a jittery looking camera. It helps keep track of where you are but like I said, you've never seen skin tones look so blue before; they really overdid it in some cases.
The best storyline is most likely Mexico since it's anchored by Benicio Del Toro who certainly deserved his Oscar. It's also got a more interesting story and a better look to it despite its intentional amateurishness. The one that isn't that great is probably the Wakefield story since it never gripped me all that much. San Diego was alright but nothing to special. Ultimately the problem with the film was that the film just felt slow. Ever watch one of those movies where it feels like you've been watching for longer than the movie is? Not to mention that sometimes one storyline is starting to get interesting then whoosh! off to somewhere else. A similar problem plagued Babel since the Chieko story was ultimately more emotional and gripping than the others. Some will probably disagree and say all stories in Traffic were good but I always groaned slightly when we moved away from Mexico.
It's certainly an ambitious film so not going to argue there and it's a great film at times but I wouldn't say it was my favorite film of 2000.
Movie Review: A Tale of Futility.
Summary: 4 Stars
I must commend Steven Soderbergh for making Traffic as it depicts the drug war in all of its truly gray dimensions. No where is this more true than when drug Czar, Michael Douglas, calls for some original "out of the box" ideas on his government plane and none of his staff can offer up a thing. It really was a very ambitious project and I believe that the director pulled it off admirably. The movie is quite stylish and it was a pleasure to watch.
Everything involving Mexico was absolutely fascinating. I thought the shots of Mexico City and Tijuana were highly authentic. Frankly, I think that Benicio Del Toro is far and away the best part of the movie. His character outshines everyone else although Don Cheadle had an inspired performance. The intrigue between the cartels was the best part.
Sadly, there was considerable racism in the film which is to be expected from Hollywood nowadays. The Hispanic and black cops are shown saying they want to catch the big guys, "the white guys," even though both of the big shots in the movie are "Hispanic guys." No matter, they'll blame the white man. Then, through the speech of a drug addicted spoiled private school kid, we find out that whites are to blame for blacks selling drugs. One wonders who is to blame for whites selling drugs then. It is the familiar, and mindless, politically correct view that whites are the cause of all evil, whereas, non-whites are always innocent victims. By proffering this the filmmaker, just as the case is with every trendy PC acolyte, reveals his own racism, as he condescends to minorities instead of treating them as real people. The racist element lowered my overall rating but the movie was still worthwhile.
Movie Review: Hard hitting.. brilliant
Summary: 4 Stars
There is no doubt in my mind that Steven Sodeburgh's "Traffic" is one of the best movies ever made on underworld.The director is on top of his form as he seamlessly weaves 4 different stories bound together by the deadly thread of narcotics.There is the naive but well intentioned Justice Depaartment officla (Michel Douglas) in USA fighting drugs on 2 levels.One as the official in cahrge of War on Drugs and other is fighting to save his daughter who has fallen in the trap of the deadly habit of drugs.On the other side of the battle is a wealthy couple where the husband is arrested on cahrge of drug traffic and his pregnent housewife whose quest for her husband's freedom descends her in to the dark world of drugs and hitmen.On the other side of the border in Mexico where the narcotic dealers rule there is the voice of consceince a mexican cop(Benecio Del Toro in his stunning Oscar winning turn) honest enought not to be involved in the traffic yet street smart enough not to take the drug dealers head on.
The pace is slow and the director makes a conscious effort to take a matured view on the drug war without sounding too righteous,also none of the stories end when the movies finshes thus leaves the intellegent viewer enought material to think over.
The all star cast includes Michel Douglas,Katherine Zeta Jones and the Oscar winner Benecio Del toro all give memorable perfomramce.Even the fringe cast of Dennis Quaid,Don Chedale pass the bill satisfactorily.
God father this movie is not but if you want to see a serious thought provoking movie then "Traffic"is your choice,it is my choice mainly because of Benecio Del Toro's incredialby charismatic performance.
Movie Review: An argument for decriminalization?
Summary: 4 Stars
A little background first. Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari from 1988 to 1994 was sent in exile to the United States after he lost the election to Ernesto Zedillo in 1995; wherefrom, the FBI discovered an enormous recycling of drug traffic money that belonged to the ex-President. It was subsequently discovered that the one running this trade was the President's brother Raul. All this and more is lurking behind the film "Traffic", a mind-boggling intrigue of drugs, dirty money and politics. It is a very difficult cinematic job to combine these elements along with the social degradation, which results, especially in terms of the teen-ager population that is affected, without resorting to moralist and dogmatic messages. The results of "Traffic" are undeniably high and the film shows Soderbergh's talent in treating political subject matter. However, the reason I did not give this film the full five stars is because I prefer the British original film that sets the events in Pakistan. This film eerily discussed the issues surrounding the drug trade along the Pakistan - Afghanistan border and the difficulty that authorities of all stripes - the Taliban had actually been the most successful even if their methods were very crude - at reducing the cultivation of poppies. That being said, this film along with the book "Reefer Madness"' by Eric Schlosser will help you undertand the gravity of the drug problem as well as the infectiveness and injustice of the methods employed by governments to restrict the tarde and use of narcotics.