Human Traffic (1999)

Directed by

Justin Kerrigan

Genre

drama film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 35m

Rated

R

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 401 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Five young friends spend a drug-fueled weekend in Cardiff's club scene. The story follows their work lives, friendships, and relationships over a few days.

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What happens

Human Traffic is a 1999 British independent coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by Justin Kerrigan. A cult film of the Cool Cymru era of arts in Wales, it stars John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes, Danny Dyer, and Nicola Reynolds. Exploring themes of coming of age, and drug and nightclub cultures, as well as relationships, Human Traffic includes scenes provoking social commentary and the use of archive footage to provide political commentary. The plot revolves around five twenty-something friends and their wider work and social circle, the latter devotees of the club scene, taking place over the course of a drug-fuelled weekend in Cardiff, Wales. A central feature is the avoidance of moralising about the impact of 1990s dance lifestyle; instead the film concentrates on recreating the "vibe, the venues and the mood" of the dance movement from the 1988–89 "Second Summer of Love" to the film's release in 1999. In the first 25 minutes, Lee, the 17-year-old brother of central character Nina, enthuses "I am about to be part of the chemical generation" and lists, using the slang of the period, a series of drugs that he might use later that night. The film is narrated by Simm, features numerous cameo appearances, is Dyer's film debut, and references another drug culture film of the era, Trainspotting. With an original budget of £340,000, the production eventually came in for £2.2 million; the film was a financial success, grossing £2.5 million in the UK alone, also enjoying good VHS and DVD sales. Human Traffic has achieved cult status, especially amongst subcultures such as the rave culture. The first public showing of the film took place at Homelands 1999. A sequel, entitled Revolution, was announced in April 2019, with Dyer, Parkes, and Reynolds due to reprise their roles. However, Kerrigan confirmed in 2024 that he will never make the sequel. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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