Wow. Was so unbeschwert mit einem nachgesungenen Popsong beginnt, endet als ergreifende Geschichtsstunde und Loblied auf die Menschlichkeit. Hier trifft die fiktionalisierte Geschichte eines sich durchs Leben mogelnden Taxifahrers auf die echte Geschichte des Reporters Jürgen Hinzpeter, der als einziger westlicher Journalist Bilder vom Gwangju-Massaker im Mai 1980 aufnehmen und außer Landes bringen konnte.

Den Taxifahrer gab es, so viel ist überliefert. Ob er wirklich ein Witwer war, der weder die Miete, noch Schuhe für seine Tochter zahlen konnte, ist wohl pure Spekulation. Aber diese wird von Song Kang-ho (Memories of Murder, JSA, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) wieder mal großartig gespielt. Wie er sich immer wieder empört, sobald er sich überführt fühlt und sich trotz allem, was sein Leben und…

As far as political events go upon Korea’s history, I am pretty much ignorant of the steps and tragedies that have been taken to have gotten to this point. Hun Jang’s A Taxi Driver goes back to the Gwangju Uprising that took place in 1980 where martial law was declared after the assassination of Chung-hee Park - a fact that I researched prior to writing this review. As protesters begin to rise, many of which were young university students, Gwangju was in lockdown with all of its entry/exit points barricaded and guarded, covering the scandal of its climbing deaths caused by excessive force from the South Korean army.

A German reporter, Peter (Thomas Kretschmann), desires to capture the happenings taking…

BEST FILM OF 2017.
There's a moment during this film where Song Kang ho's character had to choose between the right thing and the easy thing. He went for the former and it made all the difference. Here's hoping whenever life puts us in that situation, we do the same.
As I said before, this is the BEST film of 2017. I don't think anything would come close. Song Kang ho is the best actor in the world right now. If you want to know why, go straight to 1:54:10 of the film run time. That would do it.
The cinematography is so exquisite. The design of car is such that it's of green color and it has to go…

At first amusing then heartbreaking but riveting throughout its runtime, A Taxi Driver brings an infamous incident from South Korean history to cinematic life in an upsetting, hard-hitting & powerfully moving manner, and benefits a lot from another rousing performance by the ever-reliable Song Kang-ho.

The story follows a Seoul taxi driver who decides to drive a foreign passenger to a small town for a generous sum. Taking the job without being aware that his customer is a German journalist with a hidden agenda, he finds himself accidentally involved in the commuter’s reporting of the events unfolding in that town.

Directed by Jang Hoon, the film takes its time to pave the necessary groundwork before bringing the heavy elements into the…

Project-K: Review #4

Am 21. Juli habe ich das letzte Mal einem Film in der Erstsichtung die 5/5 Sterne gegeben. Damals war es der wundervolle The Lobster, den ich in den nächsten Tagen durch den LOVEmber wiedersehen werde. Nun ist es wieder soweit, die 5/5 fällt. Das Problem ist dieses Mal nur, dass ich gar nicht richtig weiß, was ich in dieser Kritik schreiben soll. Ich bin wirklich sprachlos. A Taxi Driver hat mich 140 Minuten lang an den Bildschirm gezogen. Es war eine einzigartige und intensive Erfahrung. Wann habe ich das letzte Mal bei einem Film so gezittert, die Luft angehalten und gehofft, dass alles gut geht, obwohl ich wusste, wie die Geschichte endet. Ich kann es euch nicht…

There is a good bit I like about this movie that I feel like is brought down by a lot of it feeling formulaic or "blockbuster-y". Like this movie is not a movie that needs an action car chase. Also I know not a lot is known about the real taxi driver and maybe he did have a daughter in real life but the character of the daughter in this feels so detached from the rest of movie, both physically and emotionally. She never appears after the beginning and Man-seob never really seems to act as if he is the only parent of a child, only mentioning her at like the end of the first day there when it feels…

Un tassista burbero e pieno di debiti accetta l’incarico di accompagnare un giornalista tedesco a filmare il massacro di Gwangju, una cittadina Coreana lontana da Seul. Sarà un viaggio che cambierà per sempre le loro vite. 

‘A taxi driver’ è un bellissimo film che, forte di una regia che cambia in continuazione, riesce a raccontare una triste pagina della moderna Corea, senza peró sfociare in inutili piagnistei. Anzi, il regista utilizza il mezzo cinematografico passando dalla commedia, al dramma, all’action, mischiando tutti i generi. 
Sotto i fumogeni, Jang Hoon racconta le lacrime e le risate dei cittadini, l’unione per sopravvivere e il sangue che cola dalle magliette, mantenendo un ritmo sempre elevatissimo. 
Sang Kang-ho (protagonista di Parasite e Mr. Vendetta)…