A Taxi Driver (2017)

Before you even consider watching this movie, be prepared to have your heart moved beyond return.

Where do I even begin with the beautiful movie? I watched this movie in the cinemas without any idea what I was going to be watching, no trailer and no synopsis at all. But the movie captivated me from the beginning. On surface level, it seems like a light-hearted, slice of life type movie revolving around a loving father and his daughter, but little did I know it was so, so, so much more than that.

There’s so much to say about this movie, but I’ll start with entertainment factors. If you enjoy plotlines that are based of real-life stories, tackle the human experience, explore history and how they shaped the world today, all whilst mixed with comedy here and there, then this is for you. If you have no idea whether or not you like any of the just mentioned, then this movie essentially follows the experience of a normal human stuck in a political revolution. Now, some of you might hear politics and cringe instantly, but A Taxi Driver manages to convey the whole plotline and context effortlessly without delving deep into the political history at all, making it a foreigner friendly film if you don’t know much about Korean political history.

A Taxi Driver also really does an amazing job at capturing human emotion. There are parts of the movie that are just so raw, sometimes you hate the main character, sometimes you love him, but despite whatever his actions, we could still understand and sympathise. Of course some of the situations are probably dramatized for effect from the true story, but in terms of the overall context of protests and uprising, it definitely conveys the aspects involved in these parts of history.

I would definitely recommend a packet of tissues and some social justice warrior spirit to watch this. Overall I think it’s a very important film because it really sheds light on some issues that we take for granted today (e.g. a free media!). So if you’re not really into this type of entertainment, I would still suggest you watch this just to learn a little more about things like protests and democracy.

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Some films are made to entertain and some are made to educate and inform. There is a reason "A Taxi Driver" has become the 15th film in Korean history to surpass the ten million ticket milestone. The story it shares with audiences is one surrounding a dark period of unrest  in South Korean history.

"A Taxi Driver" gives us a glimpse into the true horrors surrounding the 1980 Gwangju Massacre. Fired upon and beaten, some 600 people were killed in an unprecedented attack by the Chun Doo-hwan government. Civilians who rallied to build a democracy for their country were falsely labeled by authorities as "communist sympathizers and rioters," all in an effort to cover up and hide a gruesome truth. This event went on to spark a decade of revolution in South Korea, and eventually led to a transition from military rule to democracy.

The film follows taxi driver Kim Sa-Bok as he transports foreign reporter Hinzpeter into Gwangju. There goal is to unveil the truth to an ignorant world, and their journey is extraordinary.

If you are curious about this film, please watch. It is a story that deserves your attention and recognition. I find it hard to express it's importance in word and can't recommend it enough.

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