With all the American movies being released there is a huge risk that movie from other countries don’t get the attention they deserve. Although some of them get released to cinemas, they often don’t reach a big enough audience, making it hard for distributors to take a chance on them. Which of course creates a cycle you can’t get out of. Which sometimes is a shame, as they are a lot of movie worth watching. Recently I saw Bad Genius, which is amazing, but A Taxi Driver, a South Korean movie is also one you should check out.
The film is set in 1980, an important moment in the history of South Korea on its way to democracy. A taxi driver (played by the always excellent Song Kang-ho) from Seoul, hears colleagues that one of them must pick up a very good paying fare. It is the German journalist Juergen Hinspeter (played by Thomas Kretschmann), who wants to go to the city of Gwangju, where an uprising has started which is stopped by the government. The city is sealed off from the rest of the country, but Hinspeter wants to get in to report on the situation. The taxi driver is not aware of this, but sees the high compensation for the ride as sufficient motivation. When they finally reach the city, they experience what is happening in the city and try to help them which could get them killed.
This historical drama, which is based on real events, is very compelling and exciting. The somewhat ignorant taxi driver (whose name is never given) is portrayed in an amazing way by Song Kang-ho, while you learn a bit more about South Korean history. This results in a very credible feeling film (if you do not consider a chase at the end of the film), where the power of journalism becomes clear and you also see how such a situation can form a strong bond between people.
[score9]