A TAXI DRIVER is an excellent depiction of a notorious event in South Korean history, namely the Gwangju massacre of 1980. What makes this production so special is the direction, which is exemplary, and the scripting, which brings to life realistic characters in a way that's really encouraging and true-to-life. Song Kang-ho is one of those stars who's never delivered a poor performance and this is the best I've seen him; he adopts a masterful, multi-layered and intensely likeable role of an impoverished taxi driver drawn into a bizarre and uniquely dangerous situation. Thomas Kretschmann is decent too, but make no mistake, this is Kang-ho's film and he's a marvel. The movie itself is lengthy and often slowly-paced, but it keeps you engaged just as much in the quieter and more reflective character scenes as well as through the drama and more explicit and horrific moments. It's just a great film all round.
96% - Critics
91% - Audience
7.9Keywords: based on true storybased on a true story1980staxi drivertaxi
Plot summary
May 1980. A Seoul taxi driver named Man-seob (SONG Kang-ho) comes across an offer too good to be true. If he drives a foreign passenger from Seoul down to Gwangju and back again before the curfew, he'll be paid the unthinkable sum of 100,000 won - enough to cover several months of unpaid rent. Without stopping to ask the details, he picks up the German reporter Peter (Thomas Kretschmann) and sets off along the highway. Although stopped by police roadblocks at the edge of Gwangju, Man-seob is desperate to earn his taxi fare, and eventually manages to find a way into the city. There they encounter students and ordinary citizens taking part in large-scale demonstrations against the government. Man-seob, alarmed by the danger in the air, pleads with Peter to go quickly back to Seoul. But Peter ignores him, and with the help of a university student Jae-sik (RYU Jun-yeol) and a Gwangju taxi driver named HWANG (YOO Hai-jin),begins shooting with his news camera. As time passes the situation grows more and more serious, and Man-seob keeps thinking of his young daughter at home all alone.
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A Korean classic
The Ethical Dictates of Taxi-Driving
Kang-ho Song is a widowed driver with a young daughter, just scraping by. When an opportunity comes up to drive a foreign reporter to a small city under martial law for 100,000 won, he takes it. On the way, he discovers that South Korea is a dictatorship that people are being killed for no good reason, and that ordinary people have standards of ethical behavior, even taxi drivers.
It's a beautifully made combination of staged and stock footage. Thomas Kretschmann, playing the German reporter, looks a lot like the man his character is based on, although handsomer in a Liam-Neeson way. The way it portrays ordinary people rising to the moment is well done. If, like many a South Korean movie I have seen, it seems more violent than other national cinemas, then perhaps that is a salient feature of the national industry.
Extremely entertaining
This movie is a sharply directed moving and entertaining movie. A struggling In Seoul taxi driver takes a German reporter to Gwangju. The pro democracy riots and massacre unfold and you see things from his point of view. You really feel for the driver played by the great Korean actor from Parasite. The massacre scenes are quite moving and shocking.
By the end you will probably realise that some of the story regarding the escape is made up for dramatic purposes. But it doesn't matter. This is one movie where the dramatic licence is justified. It's a very entertaining touching and meaningful movie.