Review of Traffik

Traffik (1989)
10/10
The Seduction, The Politics, & the Reality of Heroin Addiction
20 May 2000
This is a wonderfully gritty drama, detailing the various sides of the international heroin drug-trade--From the hills of northern Pakistan, where the tacitly allowed cultivation of opium-poppies occurs on a vast scale; to the jetsetting "Euro-Trash" in Germany and England who arrange the importation of processed heroin in multi-kilo smuggled shipments; to the end-users caught up in the web of addiction and the crime needed to support their growing habit; and finally all the levels of international government corruption and hypocrisy surrounding police efforts at controlling "the drug problem"---this drama is sketched out with a wide array of in-depth well-rounded characters, fully evolved plot, and excellent character acting and location shooting.

This puts Hollywood epics like "The French Connection" in their place!

Traffik is a deeply thought-provoking and suspenseful tale of modern drug-related espionage, and the international efforts of many people to try to eliminate it.

Unlike many "crime dramas" revolving around drugs, Traffik focusses strongly on uncovering the societal *reasons* that people slide into drug addiction... As one of the characters puts it "...until we, as a society, construct a world that people want to participate in, instead of wanting to escape from, we will not be able to stop people from taking drugs..."

This is a fascinating and fully engrossing drama. I highly recommend it!
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