Film Human Traffic

Well, It's just after 3am and I've just finished watching 'Human Traffic' on FilmFour. I have to say I'd forgotten just how perfectly that film captures drug culture. It really has got everything... Starting in the Club scenes when they've taken their pills, the dancing, the hugs, the empathy, the pleasure. Then on through a series of fantastic five-mniute sequences, all perfectly capturing the thing they want to convey... There's the stoned conversation in the kitchen when two of the cast finally stumble upon the 'true meaning' of Star Wars (If you're interested - "Darth wants to control outer space, while Yoda desires only inner space"). And for a full minute both of them look completely stunned with themselves, the most profound thing they've ever heard: the second guy puts his arm around the first and congradulates him, then the first says, (with stunning sincerity and shaking his own head in disbelief) "...sometimes I just don't know where I get it from..."

Then there's the lying session when Lu goes to her Aunty and Uncle's the next day for dinner. She has a whole conversation while the true 'translation' appears in subtitles at the bottom. In response to her Aunt's question about whether Jip had stayed off the drink to drive them home safely, her reply is "No Aunty, he doesn't drink" And underneath we have "No Aunty, he only takes class-As." etc. etc.

Then there is the scene when Lee smokes too much and gets paranoid - leading to a physical conversation with 'reality' (played by Jo Brand, I think).

And finally, the most depressing scene of all, when in the pub at the very end. Lee decides he is finally off the drugs, and announces this to all his friends around the table. But none of them believe him - they just laugh. He gets more and more earnest, and they just laugh harder and harder, and take the piss more and more. Finally someone says they're going for the next round, and asks Lee what he wants - realising he can't win, he finally relents and jokes 'pint of vodka, please, and some Maltesers'. And that's it - you can see him carrying on like it forever, just to fit in. The whole film is damn funny but also very, very depressing.


It almost makes me want to stop drugs....


...yeah, well, maybe not.

Hi, welcome to bluelight we have a veritable montage of forums that you can post in... like Film and TV to chat about films etc, or The Lounge to post about off topic shite, or you can even get yourself a journal here, to spout vitriol, or non-vitriol to your hearts content.

This forum (homeless threads) is for where you don't know where to put a thread. In this case, I'd generally send the thread on to Film and TV, but I'm almost certain that there is already a thread on Human Traffic there. so what I'll do is merge this thread in with the existing Human Traffic thread over there!

I hope it doesn't get lost in the system though.

Anyways, again, welcome to bluelight

CB

Well hey... apparentely there isn't a thread about Human Traffic specifically... although it has been discussed in numerous other threads...

So hey... there you go!

CB

Top Banana!

An old film, but one with a dear place in my heart (despite the slightly cliched characters... art imitating life, or life imitating art???). For the record, my favourite scene is when the young lad is in the car being driven my the D'n'B nutters. "Wha' you on about???"

Oh, and welcome to Bluelight. You might want to make your way over to the European & African Drug Discussion forum. A literate fellow such as yourself is always a welcome addition.

/end sales pitch

Film: Human Traffic

Chaos Butterfly said:

Well hey... apparentely there isn't a thread about Human Traffic specifically... although it has been discussed in numerous other threads...

Click to expand...

how odd. well that's easily solved

rate this movie

alasdair

I remember seeing this back around 2000/2001 and really enjoying it. I saw it again recently and thought it was hollow and mediocre. I think the stage your in in life has something to do with how much you enjoy it. When I first saw it I was 18 or 19 and had just finished with that lifestyle. Now that I'm in my mid twenties I can't really relate to the characters anymore, they seem juvenile and altogether lost. I still enjoy the spliff politics scene but much of the rest falls flat.

spliff politics is awesome and so true and i love the scene with the proper boyos in the car "nah serious, nah serious, nah serious" the way he says serious is so funny, great film

Brilliant Movie, Can relate the the characters because I'm just beginning to get into that lifestyle...and it's brilliant :D

It's been years since I saw this - but remember loving it. It's funny, but I saw an interview with... can't remember his name - main character in the film, recently and apparently the drugs they used in the film - specifically the pills - were real. This is, so he said, how the performances were so 'naturalistic' - the only way to act blissed is to get blissed .
Good film anyway, at least from what I remember. At the time it certainly seemed to be pretty accurate in its portrayal of my (then) lifestyle. I'm not so sure it'd stand up so well today, but I'm sure that it would bring back some fine memories...

I didn't like this film at all. I thought the characters were shallow, idiotic and boring. I couldn't relate to one bit of this. Nor did I care whether the two main characters got it together or not

I've seen better eppisodes of things such as The Secret Life Of Us that have got it far more accurate.

i could relate to this story so much when i was younger. i dont live in cardiff anymore, but you always get the same characters even in different settings.

Brilliant film with great cast. Danny Dyer's a great actor.

This movie had one brilliant line that I'll never forget, and remains a fundamental truth for all of humanity. I cant remember the exact quote, but it was during the etarded conversation about star wars and that one guy finally ended up with the conclusion that the dark side of the force attempts to control outer space, and the light side attempts to control INNER space. That's on some zen shit right there.

4 stars. Excellent movie, makes me want to go clubbing. I love how it shows the characters organising the night and getting ready, and the excitement they get when the end of the week comes, i can relate to it.

Acidfiend said:

This movie had one brilliant line that I'll never forget, and remains a fundamental truth for all of humanity. I cant remember the exact quote, but it was during the etarded conversation about star wars and that one guy finally ended up with the conclusion that the dark side of the force attempts to control outer space, and the light side attempts to control INNER space. That's on some zen shit right there.

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"the emperor wants to control outer space. yoda wants to explore inner space. that's the fundamental difference between the good and the bad sides of the force"



alasdair

Crap

what's crap? why?

alasdair

"I said... NICE ONE BRUVVAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa..."

Tribal girl is right.
On first veiwing I thought it was a good film, but sebsequent watches made me think it was a self-aware piece of crap. Written by drug uses to excuse the drug culture, it fails to portray any of the negative consequenses of substance use. Trainspotting slays this film, as does requiem for a dream.

7zark7 said:

"I said... NICE ONE BRUVVAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa..."

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NICE one bruuuuuuuvvvvvvvvvaaaaaaaaaa