Information about Traffic (2000 Film)

Traffic
Poster
Directed by	Steven Soderbergh
Produced by	Edward Zwick Marshall Herskovitz Laura Bickford
Written by	Stephen Gaghan
Starring	Michael Douglas Benicio del Toro Don Cheadle Catherine Zeta-Jones Dennis Quaid
Music by	Cliff Martinez
Distributed by	USA Films
Release date(s)	December 27 2000 (limited) 5 January, 2001 (wide) 5 January, 2001 26 January, 2001 8 March, 2001 9 March, 2001
Running time	147 min.
Country	USA
Language	English Spanish
Budget	$48,000,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Traffic is an award-winning 2000 crime/drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh. It explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, whose lives affect each other even though they do not meet. The film is an adaptation of the British Channel 4 television series Traffik. In 2004, USA Network ran a miniseries — also called Traffic — based on the movie.

Plot

Structure

Film scholar Alissa Quart has described Traffic as the first in a category of films that she calls 'hyperlink movies', in which multiple stories take place, each affecting the other in ways that characters are unaware of, all the while using radically different aesthetic and cinematics techniques to define the mise en scène of each storyline.

Synopsis

The film begins in Mexico, where police officer Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio del Toro) and his partner, Manolo, stop a drug transport and arrest the couriers. Their arrest is interrupted by General Salazar, a high-ranking Mexican official. The general, who announces he wants to "wipe out the Tijuana Cartel," decides to hire Javier, a rare honest cop in Mexico. Javier is instructed to locate and apprehend Frankie Flowers (Clifton Collins Jr.) - a notorious hit man for the Tijuana Óbregon Drug Cartel.

Meanwhile, Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), a conservative Ohio Judge, is appointed to be head of the President's Office of National Drug Control, taking the title of Drug Czar. Wakefield is warned by his predecessor and several influential politicians that the war on drugs is unwinnable and that he should only consider his position as the Drug Czar as a resume building experience. Unbeknownst to Robert, his honor student daughter who lives in the Cincinnati suburbs, Caroline (Erika Christensen), is using cocaine and falls victim to drug addiction when she is introduced to freebasing by her boyfriend, Seth (Topher Grace). She and Seth are arrested when another student at her high school overdoses on cocaine and they try to dump him anonymously at a nearby hospital.

In the third main story, which is set in San Diego, an undercover DEA investigation - led by Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzmán), two enthusiastic minority agents who have been waiting for an opportunity to bust a rich white drug dealer arrest the high-stakes dealer posing as a fisherman, Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer). In the process, Ruiz is hospitalized and Gordon and Castro begin an interrogation telling him his only alternative out is to convince the DEA that he has a boss. Ruiz decides to risk the dangerous road to immunity by giving up his boss: drug lord Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer), the biggest distributor for the Óbregon brothers in the U.S. Ayala is prosecuted by the high profile Ben Williams (James Pickens Jr.), a tough prosecutor hand selected by Robert Wakefield who is hoping to send a message to the Mexican drug organizations through a conviction against Ayala.

Javier is successful in finding Flowers, by secretly learning that he is gay and frequents gay bars to pick up men. Flowers is tortured horrifically, much to the uneasiness of straight-shooting Javier, and eventually gives Salazar the names of several important members of the Óbregon Drug Cartel, who are arrested in a large effort by police and army soldiers. Javier and Salazar's efforts start to cripple the Óbregon brothers cocaine outfit, but Javier soon discovers that Salazar is, in fact, a pawn for the Juárez Cartel, the rival of the Óbregon brothers. The entire Mexican anti-drug campaign is a fraud, as Salazar is wiping out one cartel, not out of duty, but rather because he has aligned himself with another cartel for profit.

Robert, realizing that his daughter is a drug addict, finds himself in a tough spot, caught between his demanding new position and his worrisome family life. He delves into his job taking more of an interest in rehabilitation of drug users due to his current family situation. When he heads to Mexico to see the "front lines up close", he is encouraged by the successful efforts of Salazar hurting the Óbregon brothers (not knowing of the general's ruse and secret motivation). When he returns to Ohio, Robert learns that his efforts to see Caroline rehabilitated have failed, and she escaped into the city where no one knows her location. Secretly, she's forced to prostitute herself and rob her parents to procure money for drugs.

While the trial against Carlos Ayala begins, Carlos' wife, Helena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who has only recently learned of his true profession, wants their family life to go on as always. She and her son are soon threatened by thugs of the Óbregon brothers. With her husband facing life imprisonment and death threats against her only child, she decides to make a desperate move and hire Flowers to assassinate Eduardo Ruiz. She knows that killing Ruiz will effectively end the trial nolle prosequi.

Javier's partner, Manolo, who has also learned of General Salazar's lies, sells the information to the Óbregon Cartel, but is killed for his betrayal. Javier, who can no longer stomach working for Salazar, decides to cut a deal with the only non-corrupt organization he has access to - the American Government and FBI. In exchange for his testimony, Javier requests electricity in his neighborhood, so that kids can play baseball at night rather than be tempted by street gangs and crime. General Salazar's secrets are revealed to the public; he is arrested and tortured to death shortly after.

Robert begins a search for his daughter, dragging along Seth, who fears they will be murdered for meddling in such dangerous business. After being threatened and nearly killed by a drug dealer, Robert regains his resolve and breaks into a seedy hotel room in Cincinnati, finding a semi-conscious Caroline prostituting herself to an older man. Robert comforts her and breaks down in tears. He returns to Washington, D.C., to give his prepared speech on a "10-point plan" to combat the war on drugs. In the middle of the speech, he falters, then tells the press that on a war on drugs is a war against many of our own family members, which he cannot endorse. He quits his job and heads home, satisfied with his choice to quit.

Flowers's assassination attempt on Ruiz fails, when he himself is assassinated for his betrayal, by a sniper working for the Óbregon Cartel. Helena, knowing that Ruiz is soon to testify, then makes a deal with Juan Óbregon (Benjamin Bratt), lord of the drug cartel, who forgives the debt of the Ayala family and murders Ruiz. Carlos Ayala is released, much to the discomfort of Montel Gordon, who lost his partner, Castro, when Frankie tried to assassinate Ruiz with a car bomb. Soon after, Montel bursts into the Ayala residence and illegally plants a microphone under one of the tables, before being kicked out. Ayala also orders the murder of his good friend (Dennis Quaid), who was suspected of betrayal.

Robert and his wife begin to go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings with their daughter, to support her and everyone else there.

Javier takes the media to Mexico and explains what he can about the widespread corruption in the police force and army. The film concludes with him watching some Mexican children playing baseball at night, at their new stadium.

Relationship to factual events

Some aspects of the plotline are based on real-life events. The character General Arturo Salazar is closely modeled after disgraced Mexican drug czar General Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, who was secretly on the payroll of the Juarez Cartel. The Óbregon Cartel is similarly modeled after the Arellano-Felix Organization.

Production

Adaptation of the screenplay

The film shortens the storyline of original TV series, a major character arc, that of a farmer, is taken out, and the Pakistani plotline is replaced with one set in Mexico. Writer Stephen Gaghan originally planned to set the Wakefield family storyline in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. During his research, however, he determined that Cincinnati's bad neighborhoods looked worse than Louisville's and would serve the finished film better, so he moved the Wakefields' stories there.

When a critic commented that it seemed unrealistic that the daughter's high school record was almost perfect when she was taking drugs, Gaghan pointed out that the high school record in the movie was his and that he had been using drugs at the time.

Casting

The role of Judge Wakefield was originally slated to star Harrison Ford, but he pulled out of the film before production.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones were engaged during the filming of this movie, but do not appear in any scenes together in the film.

Awards

At the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Directors Guild of America awards for 2000, Soderbergh was nominated for Best Director for two films: Traffic and Erin Brockovich.

Both Topher Grace and Erika Christensen won the Young Hollywood Best Male and Female Awards for their portrayal of a young cocaine-abusing, prep-school couple. The Vancouver Film Critics Circle granted awards to "Traffic" for Best Actor (Benicio del Toro), Best Screenplay (Stephen Gaghan) and Best Film. The Screen Actors Guild gave "Traffic" the award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture.

Academy Awards

The film won Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, but did not win.

Benicio del Toro is one of only four actors to have won an Academy Award for a part spoken mainly in a foreign language (most of del Toro's dialogue is in Spanish). Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, and Roberto Benigni are the other three.

Others

At the Golden Globe Awards, Traffic won Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, and Best Screenplay.

At the Edgar Awards, Stephen Gaghan won the award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Cast & Characters

• Benicio del Toro - Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez, Mexican police officer.
• Jacob Vargas - Manolo Sanchez, Javier Rodriguez's Partner.
• Michael Douglas - Robert Wakefield, Head of the President's anti-drug campaign.
• Amy Irving - Barbara Wakefield, Robert's wife.
• Erika Christensen - Caroline Wakefield, Robert's teen-daugther.
• Corey Spears - Bowman.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones - Helena Ayala.
• Dennis Quaid - Arnie Metzger, Ayala-lawyer. Carlos' partner.
• Steven Bauer - Carlos Ayala, Obrégon brothers distributor.
• Clifton Collins Jr.- Francisco Flores, Obrégon Cartel assassin.
• Topher Grace - Seth Abrahams, Caroline's boyfriend.
• Don Cheadle - Montel Gordon, DEA Agent
• Luis Guzmán - Ray Castro, Montel Gordon's partner
• Alec Roberts - David Ayala.
• Miguel Ferrer - Eduardo Ruiz, Ayala distributor
• D. W. Moffett - Jeff Sheridan, Assistant to Bob Wakefield.
• Tomas Milian - General Arturo Salazar, Head of Mexican Drug Police.
• Marisol Padilla Sánchez - Ana Sanchez, Manolo's wife.
• Peter Riegert - Michael Adler, Carlos Ayala's Attorney.
• James Pickens Jr. - Ben Williams, Ayala prosecutor.
• Benjamin Bratt - Juan Obregón, lord of Obregón Drug Cartel.
• Jsu Garcia - Pablo Obregón.
• Yul Vazquez - El Tigrillo, Obregón Cartel assassin.
• James Brolin - General Ralph Landry, Robert's predecessor.
• Joel Torres - Porfirio Madrigal.
• Salma Hayek - Rosario, Madrigal's mistress.

See also

• Hyperlink cinema - the film style of using multiple inter-connected story lines.

External links

• Traffic at Rotten Tomatoes
• Criterion Collection essay by Manohla Dargis
• Criterion Collection essay by Larry Blake

•  • [ e] Films by Steven Soderbergh

sex, lies, and videotape (1989) • Kafka (1991) • King of the Hill (1993) • Underneath (1995) • Gray's Anatomy (1996) • Schizopolis (1996) • Out of Sight (1998) • The Limey (1999) • Erin Brockovich (2000) • Traffic (2000) • Ocean's Eleven (2001) • Full Frontal (2002) • Solaris (2002) • Eros (Equilibrium) (2004) • Ocean's Twelve (2004) • Bubble (2006) • The Good German (2006) • Ocean's Thirteen (2007) • Guerrilla (2008)