Stars: John Simm, Lorraine Pilkington, Shaun Parkes, Danny Dyer, Nicola Reynolds, Dean Davies, Justin Kerrigan, Jan Anderson, Carol Harrison, Andrew Lincoln

Director: Justin Kerrigan

Summary: The story of five individuals who spend the week working in mundane jobs, waiting for the weekend. Then they find themselves in a world of parties, pubs and clubs. An outlook on nineties youth culture. Soundtrack by Fat Boy Slim, Armand Van Helden, Orbital and Underworld, mixed by Pete Tong.

The Ecstasy-fuelled youth culture of England is examined in this buoyant, good-natured film from 25-year-old newcomer, Justin Kerrigan. A group of young Welsh revellers, 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 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 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.

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Five best friends, 48 hours and a bucketload of ecstasy pills make for an enjoyably lightweight slice of pop-cultural ephemera from debut director Justin Kerrigan. Cardiff is the city, and hardcore partying, clubbing and pubbing is on the menu as Jip (John Simm) and his renegade band of McJobbers clock off and head out for a weekend of debauchery. Among Jip's hedonistic posse are the cheeky cockney drug-dealer Moff (Danny Dyer), the terminally jealous boyfriend Koop (Shaun Parkes) and the bad-boy magnet Lulu (Lorraine Pilkington).

And that's pretty much it. Our heroes meet in a pub, get drunk, take drugs, go to a club, then to a party, then home and then meet up in another pub, just in time for the closing credits. Along the way there's a shamefully lethargic attempt to establish character back-story: Jip is temporarily sexually impotent because his mother's a prostitute; Koop's father is institutionalised; Lulu has nasty boyfriends; and Moff has conservative parents. But generally Human Trafficis happier at the heart of the party, celebrating the intoxication of club culture--which it does in style. Kerrigan pulls out all the formal stops with an energetic melange of jump cuts, slo-mo, and speeded-up "smudge" motion camerawork. There's also direct addresses to camera, fantasy sequences and some self-conscious cameos from DJ Carl Cox and former-drug dealer Howard Marks, author of Mr Nice. Wall-to-wall music from the likes of Fatboy Slim, William Orbit and even Primal Scream help paste over the occasional cracks in the veneer, which include some particularly duff lines ("We're gonna get more spaced than Neil Armstrong ever did!") and a drawn analysis of drug references in Star Wars, a nod to the films of Kevin Smith, such as Clerks, Mallratsand Chasing Amy. And if the whole project already feels dated and empty, well that's because it perfectly captures an essentially 1990s moment, and one gloriously empty weekend. --Kevin Maher

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	The Making Of Human Traffic, Deleted Scenes, Pubroom Paranoia Short Film, Boom Boom Short Film, Human Traffic Pop Promo, Trailer
Year:	1999
Release Date:	June 7, 2004
Runtime:	95 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 9675
Keywords:	Special, Comedy, General, Edition, Traffic, Human, Drama
Genre:	Drama