Traffik, le sang du pavot

TRAFFIK, though released 11 years before the over-rated Hollywood remake, is still far more insightful and relevant about the world of drug traffic. This despite the fact that the remake is heralded as a breakthrough in how people view the drug war. I saw the remake first, and after seeing this miniseries by distaste for the latter film grew considerably. It isn't just that it's twice as long and has that much more time to cover the issue, although that obviously helps. The dialogue is more efficient and powerful (compare Jack Lithgow's final speech to Douglas' drippy final speech). The scope is also far greater (the remake chooses to replace the story about the Pakistani farmer with the story of the Mexican cop... so we get more cops). The films handling of the Pakistani characters is affective and moving and doesn't have the naive gimicks of the remake's handling of the Mexican characters (the cinematography, for example). The film even had the guts to point out that Pakistani heroin traders get money from the American government to fight Russians (although I admit it's far less risky for a British production to make that case than it would be for a Hollywood production).

I remember seeing this in the early 90's on UK TV and was hooked. The international scope of the production is breathtaking and watching how the characters develop through the five hours it runs for is magnificent. The scenes set in Pakistan and Afghanistan are of particular interest, and as a viewer you get a real sense of a grounds-eye view of the culture and vibe of these countries during the closing stages of the Cold War. The characters of Fazal and Helen develop really well throughout the series and rivals modern shows like The Sopranos and Six Feet Under in this area. In the UK, the VHS goes for about £6 and the DVD about £10 - a quality bargain. I thought Soderbergh's version was great too - but clearly owes this masterpiece a huge debt.

I agree with the main summary of this mini-series ! The characters are not just all bad or all good (like many American movies). I enjoyed it immensely and the time just flew by so that instead of being a 6-hour series, it was engrossing enough to appear to be 2 hours' long. All the characters were finely drawn, and not just cardboard characters. Congratulations for a mini-series that still stands up in 2001! Personally. I found it better than the movie because it devoted more time to "flesh out" the characters !

Two German police detectives and a British member of parliament attempt to thwart the activities of international drug smugglers. Television mini-series details the mechanisms of the unstoppable heroin trade from Pakistan to London and the lives it destroys. But acting, script and plot are anything but T.V. quality. Superior to pale imitation "Traffic" (2000). (Rating: A)

I saw this one when first broadcast in the US, then saw the remake with Michael Douglas, then watched the original again last night. I was amazed by the degree to which the quality of the original exceeded that of the remake, with the possibly sole exception of Benicio Del Toro's performance as the Mexican police officer.

In every category, acting, writing, photography, music, editing, the original is superior. It managed to project the same message without being preachy, and the characters had much more depth and scope.

One other observation: when the remake came out, much fanfare and praise was directed at Soderbergh for "his" concept of filming the different locations with different color pallettes: Mexico was yellow, Washington blue. This is a concept he lifted whole cloth from the director of the original, which I had not noticed the first time I saw it, but did notice the second. Pakistan is filmed in ocher hues, Hamburg and London in shades of blue and grey.

When the Hollywood product came out, I felt like I was the only one on earth who had seen "Traffik" the first time around. I sincerely hope that the movie will spark the interest of others to watch the mini-series--it's worth the investment of time, and a great education, not only on the drug and social issues, but on how quality gets diluted to appeal to the lowest common denominator.