Review: The Taxi Driver

The power of Korean cinema

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Korean cinema has been showing its potential in recent years. Gradually, the country's productions are standing out for their quality and The Taxi Driver falls into that category.

Telling a real story, the feature features the taxi driver Man-Seob (Song Kang-ho), who accidentally ends up accepting the job of taking the German reporter Peter (Thomas Kretschmann) to Gwangju, where a huge uprising is taking place resulting in countless deaths and injuries.

Image from the movie "택시운전사"
The Taxi Driver | Image: California Movies

The plot relates to the Gwangju Uprising, a landmark event for South Korea, which ended only because of the service provided by the reporter. However, without the help of the taxi driver who left Seoul at his service, he would not have achieved this feat. And it’s this taxi driver who really takes the focus on this production, going beyond a historical account, The Taxi Driver shows the character's maturity.

Mired in his material and emotional problems, Man-Seob is a person who could be considered selfish at first. Oblivious to the seriousness of events in the country, the taxi driver just tries to overcome his financial difficulties and support his daughter alone. However, when faced with the sad scenario of the revolution, the character gradually becomes more supportive and less focused on his personal world. This evolution is the true beauty of this work. Moral teaching does not go unnoticed and is very well represented.

Image from the movie "택시운전사"
The Taxi Driver | Image: California Movies

Among some comic reliefs and scenes of great tension, the film develops showing an enormous quality. The production shows a perfect harmony between the performances, the direction and audio, several scenes use only strategic noises to represent the moment - which is more engaging and clear than a scene represented visually.

The representation of the power of the people, which at a given moment unites to try to end the situation, gives rise to the emotional part of the plot. Starting in an informal way, but evolving emotionally in the course of events, the film quickly becomes engaging and leads the viewer to feel the despair of the situation.

Telling an interesting story, but focusing on the personal evolution of the characters, The Taxi Driver it is a remarkable production. Knowing how to put small - and striking - details, the film gives an extra dose of sensitivity and quality, becoming a real highlight.

See the technical sheet and complete list of O Taxista Driver

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