Plum Crazy

Surprisingly, because I didn’t expect much of the USA version, they are all worthwhile. The BBC version is, not surprisingly, the best. It has a graininess and dark edge that the more stylized Soderbergh and USA editions lack. Possibly because of the production values at the time, but also because British shows and movies tend to be less pretty than their American counterparts.

While the look and feel of Soderbergh’s film, which netted an Academy Award for film editing, are intoxicating, his “Traffic” doesn’t feel as vital as “Traffik”. Largely because it had more time to delve into the stories of the characters, the latter has more emotional resonance. The characters’ suffering, their every thought and nuance, are much more palpable and uncomfortable to watch, making for a more satisfying experience. At least if you like that level of realism and angst in television and cinema.

Most critically, the story of the drug dealer’s wife is much more believable in “Traffik”. When the wife turns to trafficking herself and hires a hit on the man who implicated her husband, it’s more of a natural progression in the mini-series than in the movie. She was no innocent before her husband was arrested. Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character, however, was an innocent, and again because of the time factor, we don’t watch her slowly tread the slippery slope. One day she’s good, the next day she’s not.

The third-world story arc is also condensed in “Traffic”, again robbing the viewer of the emotional substance. It is heart rending to watch the plight of the peasant whose zealousness to make a comfortable life for his family leads to tragic consequences. This angle is boiled down to a good cop vs. bad cop tale in the movie.

The USA version is based on its predecessors almost in name only. It does keep the third-world angle, does tell the story of a foreign immigrant struggling to make a life for his family in the U.S., and does maintain the young girl struggles with drugs angle. However, it tells these stories in completely different ways, and it is updated to reflect the terrorist cloud we liver under today.

Still, it is compelling to watch, led by better-than-expected acting from some known and unknown faces. The best aspect of the story was the immigrant coming to terms with the death of his wife and daughter when they were trying to enter Seattle illegally via ship. Towards the end, it did fall apart, when it became a standard defuse-the-terrorist-threat yarn, but overall, it is solid.

If you have a spare several hours over a few weeks and haven’t seen any or all versions, it’s worthwhile investing the time. Start as I did with the BBC version to give yourself a full flavor (or is that flavour?) of the story.