"Traffic"

Steven Soderbergh has delivered the best film of 2000. It will probably hang to be one of the top films in the next decade. It's rare when a film can grab a hold of you and not let go and leave you wanting for more. "Traffic" tells the story of the war on drugs from several points of view. It weaves between the newly assigned U.S. Drug Czar, a member of the Mexican police who gets involved with a Mexican General who just happens to have a very big interest in what drug cartel is in charge of the supply.

There is a man in San Diego who is arrested and on trial for being a drug trafficker while his wife must learn to take over the family business as she is being watched by two DEA agents who also happen to be protecting the star witness in the case against the aforementioned trafficker. Soderbergh weaves all of the stories along while moving from Mexico to San Diego to Ohio to Washington, DC, the most interesting thing is that he uses different filters on the camera in each city and around each of the stars. Benicio Del Toro should win the Oscar for Supporting Actor with a brilliant performance, he acts with his body, speech, face and eyes better than 90% of the actors today. Soderbergh understands this and often lets a scene linger on Del Toro and his expressions tell a deep story.

Michael Douglas is solid as always as he adds another fine job here to go with his role in "Wonder Boys" from earlier this year. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Miguel Ferrer, Luis Guzman, Dennis Quaid also come in strong with special notice to Erika Christensen who plays Douglas' freebasing cocaine addict. This movie is sobering, powerful, thought-provoking, and amazing is something that students in film school will be studying for years to come.