Traffik – 20th Anniversary Edition (1989/British Mini-Series/Acorn Media DVD)
Picture: B- Sound: C+ Extras: D Episodes: A-
Welcome
to Traffik, a tale that takes
place in modern times, a story about the drug trade and trafficking between Pakistan and England. The story revolves around 3 different main
characters: Jack Lithgrow, a British Government Minister in charge of stopping
international drug trafficking, but when he discovers his own daughter is
Heroin addict he takes it personally. Helen,
the wife of a wealthy drug trafficker. When her husband is arrested and placed
on trial she takes over the family business and must resort to desperate
measures to find the funds to free her husband. And Fazel, an ordinary Pakistani farmer
seeking to find a job, he gets involved with the local drug lord and learns
what means to be a dealer. As the story
unfolds, everyone has their reasons for the things they are doing, right and
wrongs begins fall into grey areas and it becomes more than just a simple a
fight to stop drugs.
Taking
place in modern England and Pakistan,
this original mini-series version of the hit feature film tells us the
multi-layered story about the lives that get caught up in the drug trafficking,
trade, sales. No one has a clear
conscience, the police and law enforcement agents in order to catch the dealers
must become just a ruthless to catch the drug traffickers. Helen was an ordinary housewife until her
husband was taken to jail, she finds herself in desperate need of money and she
enters the business of the drug underworld to free him. Meanwhile Fazal, a simple farmer who becomes
involved with the local drug lord when government burned his opium fields. He
wonders why how the government can overlook a drug lord and his drugs, all the
meanwhile at the same time ask for international aid and funding under a false
pretense of stopping the drug trade.
I like this miniseries Traffik; this
was an excellent British drama where all the characters were well picked and
written. It paints a grim, but more
realistic picture of how the drug trade affects the lives of people who use
them. While most of the world sees drugs
as something we fighting to get off the streets, Traffik explores and tells the tale of why drugs persist and we are
actually losing the war on drugs. The
drugs that are imported are usually used recreational mean by it's buyers, but
for the country that produces them and are the suppliers, it is seen as their
source of revenue, power and currency. Overall
drugs ARE bad, they do
creates addicts and they should
be stopped, but it concludes in the end drugs however are not the source of
evil, corruption, nor the thing they should be fighting, it's the people that
use them. It gave a different
perspective on how I thought of drugs, certainly different from American views.
This series comes with 3 DVD discs and extras include the extended U.K. version of
episode six.
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Episode 1: The Farmer
Jack Lithgrow a British official goes to Pakistan to inspect how international
funds are spent in agriculture but then get completely different story from a
local farmer, Fazal. Meanwhile back in Hamburg, Helen's husband
is arrested for drug trafficking and find suddenly all their source of funds
dried up.
Episode 2: The Addict
Upon returning to England Jack discovers his own person tragedy; his daughter
is a Heroin addict. Helen's husband's
arrest all his dealers refuse to pay up and she finds herself penniless. Back in Pakistan, Fazal looks for work but
ends up working for Tariq Butt, a powerful drug lord.
Episode 3: The Criminal
Helen's son gets kidnapped and ransomed for money, and she seeks
questionable means to save him, while police tails Helen and to find more
incriminating evidence to put Helen's husband away permanently. Jack marriage falls apart quickly as he
throws daughter out into the streets. Fazal catches the eye of Tariq and moves up in
the world to become his right hand man.
Episode 4: The Chemist
Fazal learns from Tariq how to run/make the drug trade but then finds his
loyalty tested when he is asked to shoot a recalcitrant chemist. Jack is under pressure to smooth international
affairs, but things don't help him when he has to find his runaway daughter.
Meanwhile Helen plans to silence a vital
witness in testifying against her husband in court.
Episode 5: The Politician
Jack is under pressure to sign an aid agreement with Pakistan, but find moral conflict
when he discovers the government back dealing and using drugs to control,
oppress its people. Helen arrives in Pakistan to
reopen the trade with Tariq, but Fazal finds himself arrested.
Episode 6: The Courier
Jack returns in disgrace when he refused to sign the international aid
agreement, he salvages the remains of his family and revises his views against
drugs and it's trafficking. Helen must
smuggle a shipment of drugs back without getting caught to reopen the drug
business. Fazal's wife agrees to work for Tariq to secure Fazal's release, but
with devastating consequences.
The image
is about the same as the original DVD release. For more on that release and the
feature film, try these links:
Traffik (first DVD set of 1989 series)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2136/Traffik+(Mini-Series)
Traffic (2002 feature film)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4278/Traffic+(HD-DVD)
- Ricky Chiang
