Traffik

"Traffik 1989" is an Emmy award winning six part miniseries out of the UK which was the inspiration for the Oscar winning "Traffic 2000". The five hour film breaks down the opium/heroine trade for the viewer from the handcasting of poppy seeds in an Afghanistan field to the "head rush" of a mainlining junkie in a flat in England. Not only does "Traffik" offer entertainment value through interleaved dramatic stories it also provides an overview of the international drug trade at all levels answering the who, where, how, and why questions of the age old and unstoppable narcotic supply/demand machine. Synergistically entertaining and educational, "Traffik" will prove to be time well spent for teens and up. (A)

If you've not seen this then look out for it. It is available on DVD. It is a channel 4 (uk) production, possibly, in conjunction with German and danish TV. If you've seen the film it is basically the same plot. Several interleaved stories are connected through the drugs trade. The story jumps between the housewife (played by the excellent Lyndsay Duncan) trying to complete a deal on behalf of her husband, who to her surprise is an international drugs dealer (and generally dangerous man).

A minister, who is embedded in his job to the detriment of his family, is investigating the whole state of affairs with international drugs trafficking. He gets a few eye openers to the reality of heroin when his daughter turns out to have a 'problem'. He then visit Pakistan, officially, where he seems to be taught that the abuse (not simply the drug or its casual use) is the problem and also gets to sample some produce (an excellent scene where he simultaneously realises what the attraction is and why it is and why it is such a problem). In Pakistan we get to see the other side. The desperation of farmers who can barely survive turning to opium production and crime lords. The pointless attempts at subsidy resulting in the system getting rich. And a country so drenched in drugs yet only a relative fraction of the abuse we have in the west. Around all this a customs official/interpol agent tries to catch the 'dutch' connection in heroin smuggling. Seeking justice for his murdered partner. This really is a masterpiece. Super, understated performances from all the main actors in a way only European cinema can really do.

A must see. Especially if you have seen the film, they compliment each other abd present some subtly different opinions/attitudes from both sides of the pond.

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 !

I can only agree with many observers that Traffik is one of the most memorable dramas ever made for television. I saw Traffik when it was on TV, and I have just watched it again. I am particularly moved by the haunting original music of Tim Souster, and especially by the dolorous strains of Dmitri Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony in C minor ( the music over the credits and in parts of the film). The music intensifies the desperation of the characters as they pursue their sad fate. The music is powerfully emotional. This arrangement combines two of the movements from the symphony, but I recommend listening to the symphony per se.

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.