Traffic (2000 movie): Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Traffic is a film directed by Steven Soderbergh that explores the intricacies of the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: user, enforcer, politician and trafficker.

The three main intersecting plot lines center around characters played by Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. There is a large supporting ensemble cast.

Based loosely around the British Channel 4 television series Traffik, the film avoids sanctimony and was responsible for renewed discussion of drug issues in the United States. In 2004, USA Network ran a miniseries—this time named Traffic—based around the movie.

Soderbergh won an Academy Award for Directing for the film. Del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was notable in that the majority of his dialogue was in Spanish.

Principal Supporting Cast

• Don Cheadle
• Dennis Quaid
• Steven Bauer
• Clifton Collins Jr.
• Erika Christensen
• Topher Grace
• Jacob Vargas
• Miguel Ferrer
• Amy Irving
• Luis Guzmán
• D.W. Moffett
• Tomas Milian
• Peter Riegert
• Benjamin Bratt
• James Brolin
• Albert Finney
• Salma Hayek