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Traffic (2000)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
5 January 2001 (USA)
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Tagline:
No One Gets Away Clean
Plot:
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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 4 Oscars.
Another 59 wins
&
57 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(241 articles)
Catherine Zeta-Jones is hottest ticket as she debuts on Broadway
(From The Guardian - Film News. 30 November 2009, 5:03 AM, PST)
Viola Davis Puts her 'Trust' in Indie Film
(From ioncinema. 30 November 2009, 1:32 AM, PST)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 30 November 2009, 5:03 AM, PST)
Viola Davis Puts her 'Trust' in Indie Film
(From ioncinema. 30 November 2009, 1:32 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Soderbergh's best film is a thrilling ride...
more (820 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated R for pervasive drug content, strong language, violence and some sexuality.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
147 min
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:16 |
Philippines:PG-13 |
Brazil:18 |
Germany:16 (f) |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:MA |
Canada:14A |
Chile:14 |
Denmark:15 |
Finland:K-15 |
France:U |
Hong Kong:IIB |
Netherlands:16 |
New Zealand:M |
Norway:15 |
Peru:14 |
Portugal:M/16 |
Singapore:M18 (re-rating) |
Singapore:R(A) (original rating) |
South Korea:18 |
Spain:13 |
Sweden:15 |
Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:18 |
USA:R
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The company where Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzmán) go to apprehend Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer) is called Perennial Storage. Director Steven Soderbergh has used the name "Perennial" for companies in several of his films. The courier company that Terence Stamp's character visits in The Limey (1999) is called Perennial Couriers and it is also referenced in Out of Sight (1998) and Underneath (1995).
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Javier is talking to the tourists, he caps his pen twice.
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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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Javier Rodriguez: [in Spanish] Last night I had an ugly nightmare.
Manolo Sanchez: [in Spanish] Oh yeah? What happened, man?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) (VG)
more
Soundtrack:
Give The Po' Man A Break
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FAQ
What is it that Gordon attatches to the table in the Ayala's house towards the end of the film?more
more (820 total)
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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.