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Traffik
(1989) |
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This British TV mini series was the inspiration behind Steven Soderbergh's highly acclaimed Oscar winning Traffic of 2000. Indeed to call it merely inspiration would be an injustice as the newer film (made for the big screen) is a virtual re-run of the original with very little in the order of change. The biggest change from the original has been the Americanization of the film in that the characters and situations have been altered to suit a wider (and more lucrative) American audience. Steven Soderbergh's effort, despite its grittiness, is basically a more glamorous, expensive and Hollywood product compared to the British original which enjoyed no star quality or names approaching the status of superstars Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones or indeed Soderbergh himself. None the less, the TV serial comes across as being at least equally compelling as the remake with performances that rank alongside and even out do some of the much lauded ones of the remake. Enough of comparing the two films though, this film focuses on the heroin trade from its origins in the area of Afghanistan via the labs in the Northwest in Pakistan which were incidentally set up by a German Doctor in the late 70's. Before that time neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan produced any heroin at all. Opium however has been in the area, growing naturally for ages and ages, ever since man inhabited the region and as one of the characters in the film mentions so correctly that "nothing that grows naturally from the earth is evil". The series follows the struggles of British minister Jack Lithgow who is battling a war on two fronts; one being his professional battle against the drug trade emanating from Asia and the other a personal battle with his situation at home where he discovers that his daughter who is isolated in everyway from him, has found solace in the very drug he is trying to eradicate. We also follow the misfortunes of a family of a young disillusioned farmer from the poverty stricken North West Frontier who travels to the big city sensing an escape route to his grievances through heroin. He slowly works his way into a position of trust to the ruthless drug baron and becomes an important cog in Tariq Butt's sprawling empire but at a horrible cost. The third main thread of the plot involves another family whose luxurious life in Hamburg suddenly comes to a shuddering halt as the man in the family is arrested after a seizure of a big consignment of heroin. The millionaire dealers wife is left to deal with the crumbling heroin business and hesitantly at first but then with a surprisingly assured hand, she takes to the trade like a fish to water. The seemingly fragile Helen gradually displays a steely sharp edge and an uncanny business sense and she feels the unmatched adrenaline rush as her heroin carrying mules arrive safely, each laden with a fortune's worth of illicit powder. To the enormous credit of director Alastair Reid the pace never flags for a moment and the series is absolutely compelling (I ended up watching all six hours in one session!) with excellent performances all around. There is thankfully not a lot of moralizing or preaching en route but then there really isn't much need for it as the story paints a vivid enough picture to draw inferences from. The director also takes pains not to shove the blame for the entire drug problem on the producing countries while not entirely exonerating the countries which demand the drugs. There is a sense of balance to how the problem is portrayed - with different ramifications and different realities depending on which part of the heroin chain you fit in, either as producer, purchases, trafficker or addicted victim. The roles of the two Pakistani men plus that of an investigator are well acted by Pakistani TV performers Jamal Shah, Fariyal Gauhar and Tariq Husain as heroin King Tariq Butt. On the whole this is an example of TV at its very best; compelling, exciting, and informative and balanced in its outlook. One of Channel Four's finest hours.
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