A Taxi Driver (2017)

I want to talk about this movie to all of the people I value. I'm deeply immersed in korean culture and mostly history. This is historical movie based on real events. Firstly, I thought the movie is only settled in the period and place where the terrible massacre happend. But the whole story is based on an acutal event. The scenes are authentic, there is a lot of blood and the feeling it really happened caused me a goosebumps. I go to Korea from time to time and I can see they really do love their country even tho they sometimes, don't realize.
There is nothing I have disliked. The movie is just amazing and also educating.
Don't watch if you easily get depressions or can't watch too much of someone's torture. I have felt a little bit off for few minutes as well. But I just tried to imagine, how it was at that time, which is not that long ago. The terrible and scary events.

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Definitely worthy to watch

A TAXI DRIVER, without a second thought, is the best South Korean film We've seen till date. From narration to execution to performances to presentation: it's perfect in each and every aspect. The change in the tone of the film has been brought up extremely well, thanks to its director Jang Hoon. The screenplay is never disappointing throughout, and the film comes out as both a refreshing as well as a memorable experience.
The film's editing is top notch as it doesn't take much of time to introduce and set up the characters as well as the storyline. As the film progresses, you find yourself connected to the characters, especially the ones of Song Kang-ho and Thomas Kretschmann. Both actors have delivered extremely excellent performances, and rather so excellent that I ended up rooting for them completely. When they smiled, we smiled. When they cried, we cried too. Rest of the supporting cast, especially Ryu Jun-yeol and Yu Hae-jin deserve a lot of praise.
There are plenty of emotional sequences which make the film a totally unforgettable experience. Watch the film and you won't find it difficult to guess which scenes we're talking about. Various emotional, thrilling as well as action packed sequences have been elevated by the brilliant music.

A TAXI DRIVER is a hard-hitting film which must be seen not just for its overall excellence but also for the message it delivers to its viewers. It's hard and almost impossible to forget the film, as you're left highly emotional & impressed by the time the credits start to roll. In short, a perfect masterpiece from South Korea

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Very Moving Emotional Drama

I wasn’t planning on watching this drama, because I don’t like the “based on a true story” kind of thing. I’m so glad I gave it a chance! Because it is based on real events, the core of the story is true, but other things with the actors were enhanced and changed for drama. This is a time in Korean history a lot of people don’t even realize happened. In fact, after it was over, the Korean government tried to cover it up, and citizens were either unaware it happened, or didn’t talk about it. In real life, what the taxi driver and the German reporter witnessed, affected them for the rest of their lives. After you watch it, it’s the kind of drama that stays with you long after, because you can’t believe something like the events that occurred actually took place, and not really that long ago. I highly recommend this drama, but not if you aren’t ready to shed some tears. The real life taxi driver died a few years after he witnessed this tragedy, and the German reporter died, I believe in 2016. He searched for the taxi driver right up to his death, not knowing he died years prior. He really wanted to meet up with him again.

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I don't even know how should start to talk about it
I should say I start watching without reading any reviews and I thought it's about a father whos working as a taxi driver to pay for her daughter hospital bills and boy I was wrong
at first, it was very light and soft story that even makes you laugh in some ways
but as the movie went further it became more serious and heartbreaking witch was a very well drift.
I just loved the acting of the characters and the story was very well written.
"A taxi driver" made me laugh, cry, angry so it was a movie that went for all of my feelings
until the very last second, I didn't know that it was based on a true story and I have to tell you after I got that I love it even more so if you're looking for a great movie that is not all sad and dark you should totally watch this
although the movie is carrying some serious and sad facts at the end it won't leave you feeling all empty and sad
so go ahead and watch "A taxi driver" is going to be an awesome 2 hours.

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Taxi Driver

This movie is based on real events that happened during the Gwangju Uprising (if you watched Youth Of May you'll understand this). A German reporter and a taxi driver from Seoul was able to sneak into Gwangju, film what is really happening on the ground (vs being reported on news and tv) and broadcast it to the whole world.

I loved the transformation of the taxi driver from just in it for the money to helping the residents from the cruel shooting. The shooting scenes were horrifying, the residents and fellow taxi drivers were courageous. The taxi car chase scenes were exaggerated but was good climax. Too bad the real reporter and taxi driver never met again after this event as I read the taxi driver died 4 years later.

Rating: 8.5/10

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"I am taxi driver, you are taxi 손님."

There are at least two countries that I have learned a lot about and admire: the United States and South Korea. The book Human Acts by Han Kang accidentally came into my posession two years ago, and it's extremely vivid and graphic depiction of Gwangju Uprising made me want to learn more and more about Korean history to find out what have this nation come through to become a leading democratic country that the world looks up to nowadays.

🔸️There were only several foreigners in Gwangju on the first days of the massacre, including 5 Peace Corps volunteers, and all of them chose not to abandon their Korean colleagues and friends despite the direct warnings from the American Ambassador. Later, when a few foreign reporters, including this movie's main character Jürgen Hinzpeter, arrived, they helped them by being their interpreters. If you have seen the movie you already know what happened to the fictional character Jae Shik. A few Koreans who did speak English would not desire that attention from the ubiquitous KCIA.

🔸️I love A Taxi Driver for its amazing execution, production design, and a pretty much historically accurate timeline. It succeeds in capturing the sense of confusion and danger coming from all the sides and making spectacular and tragic scenes like the taxi cars battle and the arrogant German reporter coping with shock and guilt by filming his dead companion and the bloody havoc around. No one in Gwangju knew what was going on, later hearing the infuriating official news that the upheaval was incited by "bandits" and "impure elements from outside the city".

From "Witnessing Gwangju" by Paul Courtright: "The [elderly Korean] halmeoni's grip tightened on my arm and she turned to face me. 'We have no voice. You have to be our voice. You have to tell people outside our country what they're doing to us'. She glanced around the street, then returned her fearless gaze to me. I was rooted to the spot. I was to be the "witness" and she had given me a clear task."

🔸️No country exists in a vacuum, and I find it fascinating how people from different provinces, from different nations can work together, bond, and help each other, i.e. Seoul and Gwangju taxi drivers, Gwangju people and foreign reporters, volunteers. Man Seop didn't choose between his daughter and a grown-ass foreigner reporter. He was choosing between what's best for his family and what's best for his country. Along with self-sacrifice this makes it a clear patriotic idea for the movie.

I've been learning about the Gwangju Uprising from the article of the witness Peace Corps volunteer Tim Warnberg "The Kwangju Uprising: An Inside View", 1987, and the memoir "Witnessing Gwangju", 2020, by Paul Courtright. I highly recommend to read them if you're interested, as the writing is highly detailed, captivating and visual.

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Heartbreaking and Inspiring

I missed watching "A Taxi Driver" when it initially became popular but wanting to learn more about the Gwangju Uprising (thanks to currently watching "Youth of May") lead me back. I'm glad I learned a little more of the history before watching it blindly. If you don't know much about Korean history, like me, prepare yourself for a story that's inspiring but brutal and heartbreaking. I love when movies show history from a personal perspective, making it relatable and making me curious to learn more. That's what this movie does so well.

This movie stars Song Kang Ho as Kim Man Sup, a struggling single father and taxi driver, and his performance is brilliant. I've never seen a bad performance from him and this is no exception. It's a character similar to the one he would later play so well in "Parasite", basically a man who uses clever instincts to take advantage of an opportunity that leads him to more trouble than he bargained for. I loved seeing the change and internal struggle within his character. It also stars Thomas Kretschmann as Peter (irl Jürgen Hinzpeter) a determined reporter eager to do anything in his power to film what was really happening in Korea even if that puts him in serious danger. His performance is probably my least favorite of the cast but he still does a good job. I just think Song Kang Ho carried many of their scenes together. It's their relationship that is meant to drive the story, and it does, but I was moved even more by the rest of the cast.

This is the part of the review where I once again confess my love for Ryu Joon Yeol, and admit to being biased, but I loved him so much as Goo Jae Shik. He is so a-dork-able and his smile always automatically puts me in a good mood. Still, under all of that quirkiness is an actor with true depth and he really got me in the feels with this role. Yoo Hae Jin as Hwang Tae Sool is another everyday superhero in this movie, and I love how both actors honor the true heroism of everyday citizens.

What I liked about this movie the most is that it's story is told in a simple enough way that you can understand it all even knowing nothing previously about the real history. I also loved the idea of discovering what was happening through the main characters' eyes. I'm not sure how much of what was in this movie is based on real events or not but it immediately made me want to learn even more about real stories of Gwangju out of respect (thank you youtube lol).

Overall, this is a great film but it can be a little tough emotionally so prepare yourself for some tears to fall. Don't let the cute promotional pic fool you. I also loved the ending, and the idea of how strangers can meet briefly and not only change each others lives but the world around them.

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This film is just trying too much to be many things, but doesn't achieve anything. It starts with a comedy vibe, with some drama involved, then it goes deep in the drama, but there are so many scenes that just try too hard, almost feels like the film is ordering me to cry, and is just not natural, takes away all the impact that seeing people die should have. In the end the film turns into Avengers/Fast and Furious with a very unrealistic car chase, that again it feels out of tone, because the film is about a sensitive real life event, and having such a brainless action scene out of nowhere is just weird and bad.

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I didn't "enjoy" this movie

You know how there are things in our life that we don't necessarily want to do, but you do because they are important? Watching this movie was like that for me. I didn't enjoy it per se, but I was totally able to see the importance of watching it. It was very difficult to watch, seeing corruption and the toll it took on the students, demonstrators, and the townspeople of Gwangju.

I was especially impressed by the transition of the taxi driver from the beginning to the end of the movie. At the beginning he's just pitiful and can't catch a break. He then goes through a cowardice phase (but I couldn't fault him, with a young daughter at home), then ultimately by seeing this tragedy with his own eyes, decides to do the right things. Song Kang Ho was wonderful.

I was concerned about the part of the German reporter in this movie. Of the K-dramas that I've seen, whenever they have non-Koreans, the acting is really bad. The actor was great.

Was there music? I have no idea. As far as re-watch value, it was hard enough the first time! Would I recommend it? Absolutely, with the caveat that it isn't an easy watch.

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A Human, Frighteningly beautiful.

Haah~
Being human doesn’t make one a human.
A human becomes real when the vessel holds something more;
More than just flesh and bone:
a quiet, shimmering thing called humanity.

To possess it is a blessing.
Yet... how rare its...

Because this body... this skin... is no more than a vessel.
It can cradle kindness...
Or become home to monsters.

People, when united, can move mountains forged from steel.
Yet the same people, when strayed, can drown the world in red.

It’s so beautiful... this idea of a human.
And it’s so frightening... what a human can become; how it can consume its own kind.

I loved this movie. It broke me in silence and rebuilt me in hope.
It reminded me that even if we can't always see it;
somewhere in time, somewhere in memory, somewhere in crowd, somewhere in the silence, in someone you pass by;

there are still humans... made of *humanity.*
There are still hearts walking around in human shape.

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