Thriller · Drama · Crime
American
2000 · Directed by Steven Soderbergh · 147 min
Three separate stories show the American drug trade from different angles: a conservative judge handed the nation's anti-drug job, a Mexican police officer caught between loyalties, and a wealthy California wife who knows little of her family's money. Each is filmed in its own look and rhythm, with the tone of a documentary rather than a conventional thriller.
Why it matters in cinema history
A landmark of the post-1990s network narrative, and an example of an auteur-led, studio-scale film handling a political subject with a documentary look.
Watch with intention
Watch it as an argument made through form: how colour, camera and pace change as the film moves between places.
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