Traffik
A TV Miniseries
Directed by Alastair Reid
1989
The highly acclaimed 2001 release 'Traffic' was loosely based on this english produced miniseries - set in Europe and the Pakistan region as opposed to the US/Mexico area. Another major difference is that instead of a local honest cop's perspective we are given the story of a displaced opium farmer. FWIW, I was emotionally reminded of another threaded production, 'Babel', which also addresses arab and gun issues from a family perspective.
At 315 minutes for the 6 part mini-series may seem long, but it is not - a gripping story all the way reminding us that there actually was a reason for the drug war at one time. Looking back at this with the perfect vision of hindsight I also found myself wondering just how much heroin profits were used to fund Afghan rebels in, as the movie puts it, the 'wild west' parts of that area.
