'A Taxi Driver' Review
'A Taxi Driver' - 7/10
This movie is really subtle and personifies the South Korean cinema and what it has at its best. Jang Hoon has the talent to take a tragic situation and creates a piece of art that transports us to an example of human fraternity pursuing an ideal.
The suffering of Korean people is deeply shown in Korean cinematographic productions, although, their greatest achievement is the way how they puts this on a screen always with a comic element, without fearing to use simple jokes to ease the tension in scenes.
This film is based on a true story and proposes to the viewer to look attentively at the happenings of Gwangju. In 1980, when university students occupy the streets to protest against the military dictatorship, defending a communist ideology, in one of Korea’s most bleeding conflicts.
The perspective that is given to us is from a simply taxi driver from Seoul (Interpreted by Sang Kang Ho) that drives a German reporter (played by Thomas Kretschmann) to the middle of Gwangju which is controlled by Martial Law. Because Sang Kang Ho’s character is an outsider within the city, this gives the viewer the chance to get to know the story at the same time the taxi Driver understands what surrounds him, this detail allows the viewer to get familiarized in an unusual way with the main character, but also with the people that he is going to meet during the narrative.
We can note the influence that Hollywood takes in Korean Cinema, like the pursuits, the action scenes with different plans or, mainly, the aspect of the principal villain, are just so good as a the “Die Hard” or “007” character, although the lesson that I take from that movie is that Hollywood also has much to learn. The ironic tone that exists during the narrative, even in the facial expressions of the actors in the silent scenes, is a delicious tonic that doesn’t retire historic rigor or any tragic emotion.
To Resume, I believe that who wants to start a journey in the Korean cinema world, this movie is a perfect example, and doesn’t have the profit pressure of recent cinema. With its maximum point in the beautifully constructed characters, comes a point of extreme professionalism.
Thank you to Mr. Piracy for the opportunity to see the movie and its support for international cinema.
Signed, B
