Product Description

The real story of youth in the nineties is this: chemicals, clubs, bars, pubs, mobile phones, trainers, combats, care-less, monged, mashed, sorted, safe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4973 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-14
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Colour, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 Traffic is 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, Mallrats and 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

Synopsis
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.

From the Back Cover
The real story of youth in the nineties is this: chemicals, clubs, bars, pubs, pushing the vinyl, blagging the guest list, mobile phones, trainers, combats, caer-less, monged, mashed, sorted, safe. And here it is in all its pupil-dialted, teeth-grinding, club-hopping glory. The weekend has well and truly landed.

Customer Reviews

A remix too far...
There are many reviews of the film, although few give any mention of this being a remix version. As someone who has seen both, I'd have to say that the remixed version adds very little and seems to just be a re-editing of the original with a different intro and a few different songs (e.g. 'Weak become Heroes' at the end)

Of course, being Human Traffic, it's well worth another watch (hence the four stars) and the extras are worth at least one viewing. However, there is no way this remix improves on it as all it adds of value is some deleted scenes which were rubbish anyway.

So, if you have seen Human Traffic + loved it, then this is worth a go. However, if you're just curious then try 'Go' 'Late Night shopping' or buy
the soundtrack if you haven't got it already...

Awesome take on dance culture
I completely loved this film, saw it again after a couple of years and think it gets better with age. Brilliantly shot, funny, wacky, witty, nuts dialog, good and bad of drugs, great damn music had me dancing in my chair...great take on post modern youth life, struggles, craziness, fun, drugs, music, connections, alienation, philosophy and even some male female bonding!! Funny film, wish I was less square in those days and did more of this stuff ... a inside view on some of the best of UK (welsh) youth clubbing reality.

Very dated these days
I can remember watching this when it first came out and liking it what with being a weekender myself, prone to large nights out, debauched behaviour and a good times mission with like minded friends.

Fast forward 8 years and Human Traffic is shown on Film 4. Settle down to watch it and start to cringe with embarrassment at how dated it now looks and feels. The dialogue is clunky and annoying for starters. Does, or did, anyone really talk like that? Shouting clubbing cliche words down the phone at your mates, rambling on like a coke head even before you've hit the night out. Living for the weekend was and still is a great British pastime but thank God I don't have mates like this lot. Having a pre-club warm up beer in your local and talking about music you hate as part of some bonding session, oh deary me! It just comes across as a bad attempt at being cool. Trying far too hard to capture the incredible highs of a brief period in time but at least it was brave enough to show the inevitable downside as well.

Suffice to say I didn't watch the whole film again. Best left on the shelf along with the likes of This Life and other 'cool Britania' relics.

Watching something like the clubbing episode in Spaced is far more entertaining and real, and a lot more funnier.