Gaviria’s most recent film is a look back at the 1980s, when the drug violence in Medellin first broke out and reached its highest peaks of ferocity. In this ambitious work, Gaviria shifts his emphasis from the slum to the neighborhoods of the middle class, illustrating how the drug trade spread across social and economic boundaries. Although each class is affected differently, ultimately, in the film’s view, no one is spared. For American audiences, Gaviria’s focus on the seemingly inescapable reach of organized crime recalls the work of Scorsese, while his use of an ensemble cast recalls Soderbergh’s film Traffic. But above all, Additions and Subtractions highlights Gaviria’s constant concern for realism, revealed by the use of then-unknown actors and by the emphasis on detail over spectacle.