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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2001)
‘Traffic’ more than just another drug movie ■ Four storylines intertwine to create the masterful with a message film with a message ‘Traffic’ USA Films ★★★★☆ By Lisa R. Griffing Oregon Daily Emerald Drugs: They lead to hypocrisy, corruption and death. They exist everywhere, as if embedded in the system. At least, that is what the movie “Traffic” seems to say. It’s not “Requiem for a Dream,” nor is it “Trainspotting.” I know, once you’ve seen one drug movie, you’ve seen them all. However, “Traffic” takes the cake. It creates an image we rarely see depicted in films: a corrupt system of govern ment that spends millions of dollars to find solutions to drug problems and the effects of governmental de cisions on families and society. The sensation of drugs allows ad dicts to escape reality as dealers maintain drug cartels. These are the elements that make the motion pic ture "Traffic” go ’round. “Traffic” is an original flick di rected by Steven Soderbergh, who also directed “The Limey.” Four plots intersect and provide a devas tating message: A right answer to the drug problem does not exist, nor will the problem ever end. The ad diction and the business screw everyone over, but the business will surely rake in the dough. Three color tones, according to location, make the cinematography in “Traffic” dynamite. In Mexico, the fuzzy yellow tint gives the fdm a documentary feel. The blue-tinted camera work in Washington D.C. gives sections of this movie an eerie ambiance while the clear shots in Ohio give it a realistic view, as if one were looking through the eye of the camera. The variety of tones sets dif ferent moods that play with the au dience’s emotions. That is part of the fun in this film. Judge Robert Wakefield, weakly played by Michael Douglas, is hired by the president of the United States to win the war on drugs. The funny thing is, he has his own issues with alcohol. Straight-A student Caroline (Eri ka Christensen) is Wakefield’s 16 year-old lost daughter and feels tired by the masks people wear. No body understands her and she is “angry about a lot of things.” Her emotional baggage and ongoing junkie habits that lead her to prosti tution are well-performed. Caro line’s position grips the heart. Chris tensen is by far the most believable actress in “Traffic.” Next, we have the crooked Mexi can government, which works with the American government to halt drug trade across the border. Mexi co’s debased general, Arturo Salazar, is working for the drug lord while conspiring with U.S. officials to catch this criminal. However, two Tijuana cops working for the gener al, Javier (Benicio Del Toro) and his partner Manolo (Jacob Vargas), are supposed to bust those involved with the drug syndicate. This pro duces an unfolding dilemma. Dealer Carlos Ayala (Steven Bauer) is arrested for dealing. His in nocent wife Helena (Catherine Zeta Jones) turns ruthless to get her hus band released from jail. She has no choice but to preserve her hus band’s illegal business transactions. This section of the screenplay un veils the institution where drugs provide an attractive alternative in a situation where a person such as Helena is trapped. All four stories weave into one creation that is pure genius: “Traf fic.” The tension throughout the show is disturbing, but the innova tive subject matter and cinematog raphy are worth it. The ending is high and dry, leaving the audience hanging. Nothing in this film is can dy-coated, but it’s part of the film’s brilliance. Comedy continued from page 3B ing as “my art and my passion.” Pearlson plays Mrs. Saunders in the first act, a character she de scribed as “a bit of a renegade. A bit of a contrast to the other women who are trying to fit the norm. She’s not a hypocrite.” But in the second half of the play, Pearlson switches gears to play Vic toria, a young woman who is played by a doll in the first act. “Victoria is a woman who goes on a journey in the scope of the play. The second act is her journey towards finding her own integrity,” said Pearlson, adding that “every character goes on a journey.” Weddell emphasized that stu dents would find the subject and humor of “Cloud 9” especially en tertaining because “nothing else in town is as weird, absurd, current, on the ball... down the hatch.” Director Pearlstein also thinks “Cloud 9” presents subjects vital to the University community. In an ef fort to expand the viewing audi ence of Lord Leebrick Theatre, Pearlstein is offering up to 60 stu dent tickets for $5 for this evening’s preview and 25 tickets for $7 Satur day’s show. Performances are every Thurs day, Friday and Saturday evening at 8 p.m. Sunday matinee perform ances will be given January 28 and February 4. Regular ticket prices are $11 on Thursday and Sunday and $15 on Friday and Saturday. The Lord Leebrick Theatre is lo cated near the Wild Duck at 540 Charnelton St., between fifth and sixth avenues. For more informa tion or reservations, call the box of fice at (541) 465-1506. Entertainment briefs The Associated Press Paris — Jodie Foster will head the jury at the 54th Cannes Film Festival in May, festival officials announced Tuesday. Foster, who has a French moth er and speaks French fluently, “has received the highest honors. It was time for her to come to Cannes,” Gilles Jacob, the festival’s presi dent, said in a statement. “I’ve dreamed since my child hood of having the honor of being president of the Cannes jury,” Fos ter said in the statement. She said the Golden Palm prize she received in 1976 for the movie “Taxi Driver” was what “truly launched” her film career. The festival runs from May 9-20, but the rest of the jury will not be announced until the end of April. Foster won best actress Oscars for “The Accused” in 1989 and “The Silence of the Lambs” in 1992. LOS ANGELES — “Wonder Boys” and “The House of Mirth” were among the best films adapted from books last year, a University of Southern California literary group says. Rounding out the top five were “All the Pretty Horses,” “Chocolat” and “High Fidelity,” the university announced last week. The win ning collaborators of the 13th an nual award will be announced Jan. 22. The Friends of the USC Libraries nominates the author of the origi nal book and the screenwriter of its English-language film version for its Scripter Award. About 40 film and literary professionals selected the honorees. The nominated films in alpha betical order: — “All the Pretty Horses,” au thor Cormac McCarthy, screen writer Ted Tally. — “Chocolat,” author Joanne Harris, screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs. — “High Fidelity,” author Nick Hornby, screenwriters D.V. DeVin centis, Steve Pink, John Cusack and Scott Rosenberg. — “The House of Mirth,” author Edith Wharton, screenwriter Ter ence Davies. — “Wonder Boys,” author Michael Chabon, screenwriter Steven Kloves. Previous winners include “The Hurricane,” “A Civil Action” and “L.A. Confidential.” PASADENA, Calif. — Damon Wayans is looking to make a “Cos by” for the new millennium. The actor is starring in “My Wife and Kids,” a family sitcom that will premiere on ABC this March. He said he wanted to pick up from “Cosby” and “deal a little more with problems that kids are facing today.” He has plenty of material to draw from. Wayans and his sib lings are a famous show-biz fami ly, but Wayans said his own chil dren are more an inspiration for his new series than are his broth ers. Wayans, 40, has four children who range in age from 18 to 10, and he’s about to become a grand father. “Having kids, there’s always something new,” he told reporters last week. “And the older they get, the less control you have over them.” PASADENA, Calif. — Actress Elisabeth Shue has that terror back again. She plays the mother of a teen age daughter who is involved in a manipulative relationship with an older man in the upcoming ABC movie, “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle.” Shue said last week the role ter rified her more than any except her best-known one, playing Nicolas Cage’s girlfriend in the alcohol drenched film “Leaving Las Ve gas.” “I was afraid that I couldn’t do it, which is really why I wanted to do it,” she said. “I had never played a mother of a 16-year-old daughter. I had never played somebody who was so emotionally rigid and somebody who was so lonely and isolated and shut down sexually. “There is so much about her character that I had never experi enced.” LOS ANGELES — The Acade my of Motion Picture Arts and Sci ences has set an April 2 deadline for college students to submit films for the 28th annual student Oscars. Entries must be provided on VHS videotape, though films cho sen as finalists must be submitted on a film print 16mm or larger. Films are accepted in four cate gories: alternative, animation, doc umentary and narrative. Top prizes of $5,000 in each category will be awarded. Winners will be chosen from three regions around the country, and those films will be judged by academy members. The national winners will be announced June 10 at a ceremony in Los Angeles. On the Net: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Web site: http://www.oscars.org/saa LOS ANGELES — Cheryl Cec chetto, a special-events producer who organized celebrations for the millennium and last year’s Demo cratic National Convention, has been picked to put on the top party at the Oscars for the 12th year. Cecchetto will arrange the Gov ernors Ball that follows the Acade my Awards on March 25. The bash includes a lavish dinner and party for Oscar winners, nominees, pre senters and other participants. “We have produced numerous great events, but the Governors Ball is in a class all its own,” Cec chetto said. NEW YORK — Many bands have spoken out against Napster, saying it strips them of their copy rights and their royalties. But the Dave Matthews Band has created an unusual alliance with the mu sic-sharing Web site. The group has placed on Nap ster a link to its own Web site, www.davematthewsband.com, to allow fans to listen to the first sin gle off its new album. “Everyday,” the band’s fourth studio album, won’t be in stores until Feb. 27. But now you can download the first single, “I Did It,” through the Internet. According to the Dave Matthews Band’s management, the group was happy that Napster users were excited about the new song, but wanted to make sure fans heard the best possible version of the track. Band members made a high quality MP3 file available on their site that “sounds as the band in tended.” On the Net: Napster:http:// www. napster. com Dave Matthews Band: http: // www. davematthe wsband .com r ass Amateurs only SAUA COMPETITION SL Prelims: Jan 19 Semi Finals: Jan 26 Practice Week: February 2 FINALS!! Feb 9 Judges will include: National Champion Remos Reynosa, AS WELL AS OTHER LOCAL SALSA EXPERTS!! PRIZES Salsa/Merengue Dancing Fridays, 10pm - 2am Friday, Jan 12, lesson: 10-11 pm by Remos Reynosa $5 cover (dance & lesson included) Lakepark Entertainment Center 6400 NW Hwy 99W Corvallis Just 2 miles north of Corvallis 541.745.5443
