✒ ⚙ (Not) Commie Taxi Uprising ⚙ °8.4° °excellent°
It was wonderful to watch something that I was thrilled to have watched. It had been too long. I'd just worked through a string of shows and movies that let me down more than picked me up. They seem to come in clusters.
This movie is based on true events. At the film's opening is inscribed: “October 1979. With the shooting of President Park Chun- hee, South Korea's 18 year long era of dictatorship ends. But in contrast to the people's hope for democracy. General Chun Doo-hwan heads a military coup and seizes power. 1980: Outraged citizens protest in the streets and their yearning for democracy intensifies.”
News traveled slower in those days. This is before cable news. TV news was available at 6&11 pm. And there was the radio, newspaper & print media. That's it, and it wasn't too difficult for those in power to choke out truth. Peter, the western journalist who was hanging out in Japan (who's official paperwork pegs him as a missionary), only heard about tensions in Korea because he happened to have drinks with someone who had just been there - someone who couldn't reach his friends there. So on a plane Peter goes.
Song Kang Ho is the ML and titular character, Kim Man “Seob”. I had only seen him in the movie Parasite-9, so it was nice to see him playing someone energetic. I've since seen him playing Uncle Samsik-8.4, who is downright manic, so Mr. Song has quite the range. This film showcases his ability. He has to play many different emotions and his work is brilliant. Seob's a widower. He has a daughter. He's late on his rent - 4 months. His daughter and the landlady's chubby son fight. They both have scrapes on their foreheads. Each parent blamed the /other/ kid. She demands the back-rent NOW! Or move out. The only fare we see Seob blow off is for a couple about to give birth. The man forgot his wallet. “I'll pay you double tomorrow.” Seob holds out no hopes of that: “Do you know how many times I've heard that? I could buy a house on that fare.” Basically, money is tight.
Peter's contact in K-country shows him a paper with an empty page - censorship is in high gear. The city of Gwang-ju is the nerve center of the current tensions. All reporters are being closely watched - but - hey! He's a /missionary/❕😇. Gwang-ju needs a man on a mission. Peter will take a 🚖 there, and foreigners overpay. Driver Kim Man “Seob” overhears Peter's chosen driver bragging about that BIG fare and manages to swoop in and swipe the ride (and the 💰) like it was just a beer run. It turns out to be a dangerous run.
Seob has no idea what's going on. The situation is dangerously intense. Yet he, in a state of complete disconnect, is beaming during the whole drive down. The music is inappropriately upbeat and rousing to reflect his mood.
Even the back roads are guarded, but they manage to lie their way in. The streets of Gwang-ju are eerily quiet with tumble-trash rolling around. When they meet protesters, Peter whips out his camera and starts interviewing them as their cheers break the stillness. This is how Seob learns that Peter is /not/ a missionary. Nor is he a businessman. This is WHEN he learns - after he's already in the middle of it. Taxi drivers are being arrested for merely taking the wounded to the hospital!
At first, Seob doesn't believe the soldiers would do anything wrong. After all, HE used to be a soldier. There's no way they're acting like thugs and smashing people's heads in! Then he takes a woman to the hospital. He sees that other taxi drivers won't take the reporters anywhere because they're not reporting the truth. He marvels that they can turn down fairs! He still needs to acclimate to the situation on the ground: He's watching it unfold, yet it is still hard to accept. We all shut out the ugliness because it will take effort to deal with it. Once a decent person can no longer look away, action is required.
They go on top of the building for an aerial view. Soldiers are shooting at and storming the crowd. A local reporter warns Peter that if the government knows he's there, they will hunt him down, along with all the people helping him. Even at this point, Seob is blissfully ignorant of nearly everything going on. When Seob sees soldiers kicking and beating an old lady with sticks, he realizes how wrong this is. Action is required. To the shock everybody else in the group, Seob decides to go down and get involved.
That night, they turn on the newscast and it's all lies. Brave reporters, in turn, try to print the truth, but their manager stops them saying they'll all just get thrown in jail. At night, the gunfire starts. Fires rage in the distance.
TD is a 2017, 137-minute release that is rated 68 on AWiki. Director, Jang Hoon, did a brilliant job, and he doesn't have a lot on his director resume yet. Taxis were golf-green in the 80's, and a lurid green coats the film's opening. Even though I know nothing of 1980 Korea, I could feel the retro vibe. A quick web search reveals that green is for growth, beginnings, youth, and new energy. When they arrive in Gwang-ju, green banners have been hung by the protesters.
The director evokes raw emotion with skill. The hospital scene is bloody, and it hurts. With the flurry of car chases, stunts, shooting battles, and close ups of gunshots with blood splattering, this is not a small budget production. As they head back to Seoul with the goods, the military is on to them. (It doesn't make sense that the secret police dude would have been at that particular checkpoint. He had other things to do in the city). They get through a checkpoint, but at some point the taxis have to band together and run an interference operation. It's awesome, but it's fiction.
Per WIKI, “The assassination of President Park Chung Hee on 26 October 1979 triggered a number of democracy movements {which led to later protests} that had previously been suppressed under Park's tenure. The abrupt end of Park's 18-year authoritarian rule left a power vacuum that created political and social instability.
General Chun Doo-hwan heavily suppressed these protests. On 18 February 1980, the army issued orders to a number of units to undergo severe riot control training, called "Loyalty Training" This training was harsh and unconscionable, and was criticized as a factor behind the paratroopers' indiscriminate use of violence against the uprising.
There is no universally accepted death toll for the Gwangju Massacre. Records of death for the city in May 1980 were an estimated 2,300 above the historical averages and the death toll has been estimated to be anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 people. Estimates for the number of civilians wounded also vary heavily, including figures anywhere from 1,800 to 3,500 people…
The movement preceded other democratic movements during the late 1980s that pressured the regime into democratic reforms and paved the way for the election of President Kim Dae-jung in 1997, the first opposition candidate to win the office… The 1980s marked a surge in Anti-American sentiment in Korea, widely traced to the United States' support for Chun's government and its involvement in the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising. According to Bruce Cumings…
The real Kim Sa-bok had a long term working relationship as a driver for Jurgen Hinzpeter, since at least 1975, and had died of liver cancer on December 19, 1984 at the age of 54. According to his son, Kim Sa-bok was traumatized by the terrible events at Gwangju and became a heavy drinker afterwards.”
QUOTES📢
We would rather die standing than live on our knees.
There aren't enough coffins in Gwang-ju.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8.4 📝7.8 🎭8.5 🌞4 🎨8.5 ⚡7 🎵/🔊7 😅3 😭7 😱5.7 😯5 😖6.8 🤔7 💤0 🔚8
Age 14+ for TV-14 language, violence and blood. This movie is historically significant, so additional leeway is to be expected.
Re-📺?
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Flex X Cop-8.5,
The Bros-7.4,
The First 1st Responders-7.8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Vagabond-8,
Inspector Koo-8.4,
Iris-8,
D.P.-8.4,
Flower of Evil-8.9,
Awaken-8.7,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9, Mr. Sunshine 9
The Wailing-8.8,
Oldboy-9,
〰 Prime Catalog 〰
A Taxi Driver-8.4,
A Witch's Love-7.9,
Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds-7.2,
Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days-6.7,
Boys Over Flowers-8.3,
Death's Game-7.8,
Heartbeat-4.8,
The K2-8
The Man from Nowhere-8.9,
Marry My Husband-7.5,
May I Help You-6.3,
Mother-8.8,
My Man Is Cupid-5.9,
My Mister-9.5,
Private Lives-8.1,
Saimdang-8.5,
She Would Never Know-7.3
So I Married the anti fan-6.8,
The Wailing-8.8,
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion-7.6,
This movie is based on true events. At the film's opening is inscribed: “October 1979. With the shooting of President Park Chun- hee, South Korea's 18 year long era of dictatorship ends. But in contrast to the people's hope for democracy. General Chun Doo-hwan heads a military coup and seizes power. 1980: Outraged citizens protest in the streets and their yearning for democracy intensifies.”
News traveled slower in those days. This is before cable news. TV news was available at 6&11 pm. And there was the radio, newspaper & print media. That's it, and it wasn't too difficult for those in power to choke out truth. Peter, the western journalist who was hanging out in Japan (who's official paperwork pegs him as a missionary), only heard about tensions in Korea because he happened to have drinks with someone who had just been there - someone who couldn't reach his friends there. So on a plane Peter goes.
Song Kang Ho is the ML and titular character, Kim Man “Seob”. I had only seen him in the movie Parasite-9, so it was nice to see him playing someone energetic. I've since seen him playing Uncle Samsik-8.4, who is downright manic, so Mr. Song has quite the range. This film showcases his ability. He has to play many different emotions and his work is brilliant. Seob's a widower. He has a daughter. He's late on his rent - 4 months. His daughter and the landlady's chubby son fight. They both have scrapes on their foreheads. Each parent blamed the /other/ kid. She demands the back-rent NOW! Or move out. The only fare we see Seob blow off is for a couple about to give birth. The man forgot his wallet. “I'll pay you double tomorrow.” Seob holds out no hopes of that: “Do you know how many times I've heard that? I could buy a house on that fare.” Basically, money is tight.
Peter's contact in K-country shows him a paper with an empty page - censorship is in high gear. The city of Gwang-ju is the nerve center of the current tensions. All reporters are being closely watched - but - hey! He's a /missionary/❕😇. Gwang-ju needs a man on a mission. Peter will take a 🚖 there, and foreigners overpay. Driver Kim Man “Seob” overhears Peter's chosen driver bragging about that BIG fare and manages to swoop in and swipe the ride (and the 💰) like it was just a beer run. It turns out to be a dangerous run.
Seob has no idea what's going on. The situation is dangerously intense. Yet he, in a state of complete disconnect, is beaming during the whole drive down. The music is inappropriately upbeat and rousing to reflect his mood.
Even the back roads are guarded, but they manage to lie their way in. The streets of Gwang-ju are eerily quiet with tumble-trash rolling around. When they meet protesters, Peter whips out his camera and starts interviewing them as their cheers break the stillness. This is how Seob learns that Peter is /not/ a missionary. Nor is he a businessman. This is WHEN he learns - after he's already in the middle of it. Taxi drivers are being arrested for merely taking the wounded to the hospital!
At first, Seob doesn't believe the soldiers would do anything wrong. After all, HE used to be a soldier. There's no way they're acting like thugs and smashing people's heads in! Then he takes a woman to the hospital. He sees that other taxi drivers won't take the reporters anywhere because they're not reporting the truth. He marvels that they can turn down fairs! He still needs to acclimate to the situation on the ground: He's watching it unfold, yet it is still hard to accept. We all shut out the ugliness because it will take effort to deal with it. Once a decent person can no longer look away, action is required.
They go on top of the building for an aerial view. Soldiers are shooting at and storming the crowd. A local reporter warns Peter that if the government knows he's there, they will hunt him down, along with all the people helping him. Even at this point, Seob is blissfully ignorant of nearly everything going on. When Seob sees soldiers kicking and beating an old lady with sticks, he realizes how wrong this is. Action is required. To the shock everybody else in the group, Seob decides to go down and get involved.
That night, they turn on the newscast and it's all lies. Brave reporters, in turn, try to print the truth, but their manager stops them saying they'll all just get thrown in jail. At night, the gunfire starts. Fires rage in the distance.
TD is a 2017, 137-minute release that is rated 68 on AWiki. Director, Jang Hoon, did a brilliant job, and he doesn't have a lot on his director resume yet. Taxis were golf-green in the 80's, and a lurid green coats the film's opening. Even though I know nothing of 1980 Korea, I could feel the retro vibe. A quick web search reveals that green is for growth, beginnings, youth, and new energy. When they arrive in Gwang-ju, green banners have been hung by the protesters.
The director evokes raw emotion with skill. The hospital scene is bloody, and it hurts. With the flurry of car chases, stunts, shooting battles, and close ups of gunshots with blood splattering, this is not a small budget production. As they head back to Seoul with the goods, the military is on to them. (It doesn't make sense that the secret police dude would have been at that particular checkpoint. He had other things to do in the city). They get through a checkpoint, but at some point the taxis have to band together and run an interference operation. It's awesome, but it's fiction.
Per WIKI, “The assassination of President Park Chung Hee on 26 October 1979 triggered a number of democracy movements {which led to later protests} that had previously been suppressed under Park's tenure. The abrupt end of Park's 18-year authoritarian rule left a power vacuum that created political and social instability.
General Chun Doo-hwan heavily suppressed these protests. On 18 February 1980, the army issued orders to a number of units to undergo severe riot control training, called "Loyalty Training" This training was harsh and unconscionable, and was criticized as a factor behind the paratroopers' indiscriminate use of violence against the uprising.
There is no universally accepted death toll for the Gwangju Massacre. Records of death for the city in May 1980 were an estimated 2,300 above the historical averages and the death toll has been estimated to be anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 people. Estimates for the number of civilians wounded also vary heavily, including figures anywhere from 1,800 to 3,500 people…
The movement preceded other democratic movements during the late 1980s that pressured the regime into democratic reforms and paved the way for the election of President Kim Dae-jung in 1997, the first opposition candidate to win the office… The 1980s marked a surge in Anti-American sentiment in Korea, widely traced to the United States' support for Chun's government and its involvement in the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising. According to Bruce Cumings…
The real Kim Sa-bok had a long term working relationship as a driver for Jurgen Hinzpeter, since at least 1975, and had died of liver cancer on December 19, 1984 at the age of 54. According to his son, Kim Sa-bok was traumatized by the terrible events at Gwangju and became a heavy drinker afterwards.”
QUOTES📢
We would rather die standing than live on our knees.
There aren't enough coffins in Gwang-ju.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8.4 📝7.8 🎭8.5 🌞4 🎨8.5 ⚡7 🎵/🔊7 😅3 😭7 😱5.7 😯5 😖6.8 🤔7 💤0 🔚8
Age 14+ for TV-14 language, violence and blood. This movie is historically significant, so additional leeway is to be expected.
Re-📺?
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Flex X Cop-8.5,
The Bros-7.4,
The First 1st Responders-7.8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Vagabond-8,
Inspector Koo-8.4,
Iris-8,
D.P.-8.4,
Flower of Evil-8.9,
Awaken-8.7,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9, Mr. Sunshine 9
The Wailing-8.8,
Oldboy-9,
〰 Prime Catalog 〰
A Taxi Driver-8.4,
A Witch's Love-7.9,
Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds-7.2,
Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days-6.7,
Boys Over Flowers-8.3,
Death's Game-7.8,
Heartbeat-4.8,
The K2-8
The Man from Nowhere-8.9,
Marry My Husband-7.5,
May I Help You-6.3,
Mother-8.8,
My Man Is Cupid-5.9,
My Mister-9.5,
Private Lives-8.1,
Saimdang-8.5,
She Would Never Know-7.3
So I Married the anti fan-6.8,
The Wailing-8.8,
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion-7.6,
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