Starring
Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, Ryu Jun-yeol, Park
Hyuk-kwon, Uhm Tae-goo, Yoo Eun-mi. Directed by Jang Hoon. (2017/137
min).
Poor
Kim. All he wants to do is score a big cab fare to pay his rent and
provide for his daughter, only to end up the unsung hero of a freedom
movement. Claiming to be based on true events, I don't know how much
of what happens in A Taxi Driver is accurate, but it makes a
hell of a movie.
The
film takes place in 1980 South Korea, which has recently fallen under
military dictatorship. Seoul taxi driver Kim
Man-seob (Song Kang-ho, who's terrific) is a widow who has more immediate financial concerns than
government turmoil. When he overhears that photojournalist Jurgen
Hinzpeter (Thomas Kretschmann) wants to travel to Gwangju to document
student protests (and is willing to pay 100, 000 Won), Kim
immediately jumps at the opportunity to drive him.
 |
| "I locked my damn keys in the car!" |
What
the two discover, however, is Gwangju is under martial law and
extremely dangerous, especially to foreigners. Protesters are being
shot in the streets by the military, which is completely contrary to
what everyone outside Gwangju is being told in the news. Worse yet,
plainclothes security officers are on the lookout for reporters who
could expose what's going on, meaning Kim and Jurgen end up being
hunted. This doesn't sit well with Kim, of course, who just wants to
collect his fare without getting involved. However, when his car
breaks down and a curfew leaves him trapped, he and Jurgen learn from
other cabbies (and their families) just bad things have gotten. And
this is before the ongoing conflict escalates into a full blown
massacre.
In
real life, Jurgen Hinzpeter did indeed use his camera to show the
world what was actually happening in Gwangju, getting in and out of
the city with the help of a heroic cabbie. But aside from Hinzpeter's
gratitude for the driver's heroism, little else was known about him.
This gives A Taxi Driver the creative freedom to use the
Gwangju Massacre as the backdrop for an emotionally powerful
character transformation. The film is accurately titled. Kim is just
another anonymous, passive working man (nearly a bumbling fool) until circumstances force him
to reassess not only what's happening around him, but his own
personal values.
Despite
the dark historical context (not to mention the decidedly misleading
Blu-Ray cover art), A Taxi Driver turns out to be unexpectedly
thrilling, suspenseful and ultimately poignant, boosted considerably by a cast of extremely
likable protagonists whose actions under dire circumstances (to say
the least) make the film an emotionally rousing experience worth
seeing more than once. If you aren't moved by the final
act, you must not have been paying attention during the previous 90
minutes.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY
No comments:
Post a Comment