Traffic, 2000

The film’s multiple plot lines happen simultaneously, with characters from different plotlines nearly intersecting sometimes as the film refocuses on a different plot. The plot centers around the drug war between the United States and Mexico and some of the effects that result from it. Each plotline used different filming techniques, including distinctive filters, to set them apart from each other. The Mexico plotline was shot with a handheld camera by Soderberg, which allowed him to be very involved in the filming process. The handheld camera had the effect of giving uncertainty to the viewer; as it moved unsteadily, the viewer was unsure about what dangers might be in store. Also, the scenes were shot in Spanish and subtitled which made them feel more authentic than if the actors all spoke in English. The events in this portion of the film were the most connected to the drug war, and the backstabbing, cold-heartedness, deception, and extremity connected the filmmaker’s beliefs to the viewer. Benicio Del Toro’s acting was very effective at giving me the feeling that he was a good person, but also conflicted by the situation he was in. The plotline that detailed the DEA investigation by Don Cheadle’s and Luis Guzman’s characters of a convicted drug trafficker and surveillance of his wife, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, grew greatly throughout the film. Zeta-Jones’s character was doing somewhat of an investigation of her own on the extent of her husband’s dealings, with the assistance of her lawyer, played by Dennis Quaid. Zeta-Jones developed rapidly from a well-to-do house mother into a sly businesswoman taking on some of the responsibilities her husband may have once had. Ultimately, she decides to hire an assassin, played by Clifton Collins Jr., who also appeared in the Mexico plotline, to kill the key witness in her husband’s case. All the while, she is trying to protect her son from rival gangs, who have placed threats on his life. The DEA investigation officers, played by Cheadle and Guzman, provide comic relief in the scenes they appear in and in their dialogue with each other, and Guzman’s character dies in a dramatically ironically fashion as he gets into a car set to explode when his partner and the audience knows that it go off. Michael Douglas plays a strong-willed but emotionally stretched National Drug Controller in the third plotline, which deals with his education and action on the account of the drug war, and his personal dealings with his wife and his daughter, who herself is addicted to drugs. While Douglas maintains composure and ambition in front of his colleagues, he manages to seem on the verge of breakdown for the entirety of his involvement with his daughter’s addiction and subsequent fleeing. The characters trump their problems and Douglas’s character ends up supporting his daughter in addiction meetings. The $46 million budget provided the filmmakers with almost two months of filming on location in more than a handful of different cities. The was cut down to only 147 minutes, while the film’s proposal and the first cut had has the film pegged at about three hours, however the amount of content in the film and the development of characters, plots, and themes was extremely dense, yet comprehensible. The connection to real life events and the relative authenticity of the portrayal of the drug war did well to communicate the effects of drugs, using the experiences of the screenwriter himself as well as discussions with the DEA.

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This movie is a fascinating portrayal of the drug traffic-ing scene. From columbia to tijuana mexico, its very interesting to see how much drugs and the demand for them affect the world. A very powerful film.

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The message of this film about social decay is harsh and disturbing, accentuated by the different angles on drug dealing and drug abuse. The entire cast is wonderful. I liked the idea of Douglas's character's efforts to control his daughter's drug abuse problem - the problem he is supposed to control throughout the entire nation. I also think the idea of a different color as the background for each story is special and effective. Another feature I really liked is the way the multiple stories intertwined. All of these features make the film so good and clever. I watched this several times and enjoyed it every single time.

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