Traffic (2000)
A different war on drugs.
Presentation:
Steven Soderbergh is known for his interlinking storytelling such as the Oceans series, Lucky Logan, Contagion and it’s hard to not see a few Spanish directors influences especially when much of the film takes place in Mexico. What starts out as a gripping thriller takes you back to prime 2000s television series like 24. The structure is well conceived and organized, which is necessary because the film is morally meandering. It doesn’t spoon feed to us who is the bad guy and you begin to question what’s going on and what’s the character’s motivations? The film follows 3 stories, separated by a blue grade, sepia 16mm grade and normal color palette to distinguish the arcs. Although the film looks gritty and is shot with personal intimacy and realism (Soderbergh personally handheld the camera) there are lapses of logic and moments of flair that are hard to overlook. Michael Douglas’ arc is by far the biggest disappointment and only serves as an anchor, illustrating the impact of the war on drugs to the home of western audiences (Topher Grace sucks real hard here). The DEA storyline is compelling political theatre, but the heart and best part of the film for me is clearly Benicio Del Toro’s arc. There is an impressively broad international all star cast.
Analysis:
So it turns out the Javier (Del Toro's character) intention all along was to provide electricity to his neighborhood park to prevent crime. A noble, slightly naive take, but poetic nevertheless. It is referenced in the film as a metaphor, but eventually revealed to be his primary motivation to dissuade Mexican kids from turning to crime. In the beginning when Wakefield is doing the rounds at a social party on what is the solution to the war on drugs, we hear many approaches. Ultimately Soderbergh implies the approach of compassion, that there is no war, but rather to love and support children so that they never turn to drugs. Without the demand, there is no supply. This is quite an idealistic and even beautiful notion, but honestly a bit naive and hypocritical when you know how depraved Hollywood is when it comes to drugs. The film is not black in white in representing the drug dealers. The vulnerable Helena out of desperation offers a morally questionable maneuver and at times feels like the film is celebrating the obstruction of law against drug trafficking. Even if the message doesn't click with you, it should make you think about different perspectives on the issue other than traditional angles of force and punishment. What else can you ask for in cinema that to offer a different viewpoint? Sure it's naive for the tone of the film, but maybe we shouldn't be so quick as to invalidate Soderbergh's premise.
Conclusion:
While the constant cuts between the interlinking stories feels a bit like a TV program, it’s absolutely cinema and one of Soderbergh’s best. The presentation is really wonderful with a perspective that you don’t experience with many other director’s take on the format. The message of the film is a head-scratcher. For most of the story, the intent and overarching connective tissue is a mystery and once it is revealed we see that this is a political film. I have a feeling conservatives will not connect with the message, though I think one can easily look past that and enjoy the film for its storytelling merits alone. In 2025, you’d think that we’ve already seen everything about the Mexican war on drugs, but there’s just too much material to go off of - it’s like the Vietnam War. This is definitely what future drug docudramas referenced, and I can even see some connection with Sicario. You can really present the same thing in infinitely different viewpoints and you know with Soderbergh’s vision that he will deliver on his version on the war on drugs - though the jury is still out on his politics. It’s still admirable that in 2000 he risked it all just to preserve his vision, even saying no to Harrison Ford and Hollywood. So even if it is a questionable ending, there’s hopefully still a lot to respect.
Recommendations
Not the smashing you expected.