Criterion Collection

Starting a few years back with Out of Sight and continuing on with The Limey and Erin Brokovich, director Steven Soderbergh had been riding a remarkable streak of winning films that fulfills the blazing promise of his first film, sex, lies, and videotape. With his most complex film to date, Traffic, Soderbergh once again proved that he is one of America’s most inventive filmmakers. He doesn’t play it safe – with each and every new outing, Soderbergh proves that he’s not afraid to ...ake chances. It seems as if he thrives off of the challenge and manages (so far) to hit a home run every time he steps up to the plate.

Based on the British mini-series “Traffik”, Soderbergh’s film tackles America’s complex “war on drugs”, ultimately declaring it a draw, if not a futile endeavor. It interweaves three separate storylines, each with its own trailing threads and allows Soderbergh, and screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (Rules of Engagement), to detail various aspects of the drug trade in America, Mexico, and in homes all across America. The film is many stories and no center – a drama that describes a condition in which symptoms far outnumber any possible cure. We see smart, affluent teens smoking, snorting, and shooting-up under the noses of parents you would think are most likely to realize it. We see the high living that drug money can afford you and we wander the streets of dusty Tijuana to see the beginnings of the drugs making their way across our borders. The film retains a personal touch for viewers by making the cops, crooks, and users into individuals with strong personalities and credible motives for their actions.