The Ecstasy-fueled youth culture of England is examined in this buoyant, good-natured film from 25-year-old newcomer, Justin Kerrigan. A group of young Welsh revelers, including Jip (John Simm), Lulu (Lorrain Piliongon), and Koop (Shaun Parkes) endure their mundane jobs all week, and then cut loose on a typically wild Friday night of dancing, drinking, drugging, shagging, and then recovering in order to deal with their parents come Sunday. The film's guileless pro-drug stance may prove off-putting to more jaded and conservative American audiences, but as a "peak" at England's thriving 1990s counterculture, it's a fun, fascinating document, and a cheery companion to TRAINSPOTTING (which was obviously a huge inspiration). Kerrigan fills the film with lots of surreal and fantastical digressions, direct addresses to the camera, and quote-worthy bits of British slang. Energetic electronica pulses throughout for a dynamite score, which combines with the high-spirited performances of the cast and makes for good time, whatever your "buzz" may be. Its honesty about the good, great, and not-so-great aspects of the lifestyle should ring true to those familiar with the scene, and provide others with a thrilling, propaganda-free glimpse into club-kid nightlife.
Theatrical release: May 5, 2000 (US).
Filmed in Cardiff, Wales, UK.
Winner of the 1999 British Independendt Film Award for Best Achievement in Production, the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Brussels International Film Festival, and the Jury Prize at the 2000 Bermuda International Film Festival.
Excerpt: "We're nympholeptics, desiring the unobtainable. We risk sanity for moments of temporary enlightenment. So many ideas, so little memory. The last thought killed by anticipation of the next. We feel an oberwhelming feeling of love; we flow in unison." --Jip (John Simm) giving a voice-over of his ecstacy experience.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Letterboxed - Anamorphic - 1.85:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Distributor Notes: Human Traffic
Here's the hip, adrenaline-pumped comedy about one wild weekend in the lives of five young friends ... and how their latest raved-up adventure just might change their outlook before the next weekend arrives! For Jip, Lulu, Koop, Nina, and Moff, workdays are merely the dreary downtime between frenetic 48-hour binges of clubbing, pubbing, and partying without rules or limits! But when these friends spend a wild weekend in search of some meaning and real connections, they'll see things in ways they've never imagined! Fast, funny, and excitingly original -- discover for yourself this widely acclaimed hit!
Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
Director of Photography
Dave Bennett: Director of Photography
Review 1:
"Well cast, engagingly played and directed with a stylistic pedal to the metal..."
Source: Variety
p.34 6/14-21/1999
Review 2:
"...HUMAN TRAFFIC rings sweet and true....Good acting gives [the film] its soul..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.46-7 06/1999
Review 3:
"...Arguably the best -- certainly the boldest -- Brit movie of last year..."
Source: Total Film
p.106 07/01/2000
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