Traffic (2000)

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

Simon Moore (miniseries Traffik)
Stephen Gaghan (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 January 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Judge | Teenage Daughter | Witness | Mexico

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 59 wins & 57 nominations

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

Also Known As:

Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (Germany)
Traffik (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

147 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

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:

A-1 Self Storage, 1190-B W. Morena Boulevard, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Bedford Falls Productions

Trivia:

This is a remake of the British mini-series "Traffik" (1989), produced and shown by Channel Four.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Students at Cincinnati Country Day school do not wear uniforms. Also, the school building is considerably more modern. The scene that shows the school was actually shot at Walnut Hills.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Javier Rodriguez: [in Spanish] Last night I had an ugly nightmare.
Manolo Sanchez: [in Spanish] Oh yeah? What happened, man?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Still Swingin' (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

An Ending (Ascent)

All you could ask for.

No compromises here. Traffic takes a long, hard look at the narcotics industry in North America and manages to entertain at the same time. The triple plot allows you to see the whole industry with multiple perspectives. The movie is visually stunning, loved the different filters for the three locations.

That the war on drugs cannot be won, and is hypocritical to boot, is a message that needs as much air-time as it can get.