A Taxi Driver can over-reach towards its final chase sequences, which enter the realm of fantasy, but they’re not enough to de-rail this fine film.
A Taxi Driver(택시운전사)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Korea · 2017
2h 18m
Director Jang Hoon
Starring Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, Ryu Jun-yeol
Genre Action, Drama, History
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
The true story of South Korean taxi driver Sa-bok Kim who accepts a job driving German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter to Gwangju. They arrive to find the city engulfed in a violent conflict between student protesters and the military. This zero-to-hero film, based on the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, is a compassionate tale of selflessness, patriotism, and morality.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by Andy Webster
The film climaxes with a breathless escape from Gwangju, as Kim and Hinzpeter elude government vehicles with the aid of other cabdrivers. But most impressive is Mr. Song, who persuasively conveys a working stiff’s political awakening.
While the film clearly taps into the national zeitgeist, buoyed by a sweeping show of people’s power that ousted the president, international audiences should also appreciate the actors’ feisty turns.
Los Angeles Times by Michael Rechtshaffen
Grafting the buddy picture onto the framework of the classic political thriller, director Jang Hoon also manages to find time for lighter moments of human comedy, and those seemingly disparate elements are deftly navigated by Song and his fellow fully dimensional characters.
A Taxi Driver is a Korean epic, a tipping point in the history of South Korea. A little old-fashioned and a touch melodramatic, it’s still a compelling Korean “Year of Living Dangerously.”
The Hollywood Reporter by Sheri Linden
In unexpected and wonderfully satisfying ways, A Taxi Driver taps into the symbiotic relationship between foreign correspondents and locals, particularly in times of crisis.
RogerEbert.com by Simon Abrams
Song's performance makes me wish the rest of A Taxi Driver was as thoughtful.
Users who liked this film also liked
Until the End of the World
(Bis ans Ende der Welt)
Dr. Farber, in trying to find a cure for his wife's blindness, has created a device that allows the user to send images directly to the brain, enabling the blind to see.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, France, Australia • 1991
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Chick Ortega, Eddy Mitchell, Ernie Dingo, Sam Neill
- Genre Thriller, Drama, Science Fiction, Action
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Shiri
(쉬리)
Two South Korean special agents must stop a North Korean plot involving potent explosives while facing a deadly female sniper.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 1999
- Director Kang Je-gyu
- Cast Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Yunjin Kim, Song Kang-ho, Park Yong-woo, Kim Su-ro
- Genre Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Fandango At Home
A Perfect Day
(Un giorno perfetto)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2008
- Director Ferzan Özpetek
- Cast Isabella Ferrari, Valerio Mastandrea, Valerio Binasco, Nicole Grimaudo, Federico Costantini, Monica Guerritore
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Admiral
(Адмиралъ)
The Highest Command
- Russia • 2008
- Director Andrey Kravchuk
- Cast Konstantin Khabenskiy, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Sergei Bezrukov, Anna Kovalchuk, Egor Beroev, Richard Bohringer
- Genre War
- Available on No streaming locations found.
La nostra vita
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 2010
- Director Daniele Luchetti
- Cast Elio Germano, Isabella Ragonese, Raoul Bova, Stefania Montorsi, Luca Zingaretti, Giorgio Colangeli
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
May 18
(화려한 휴가)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2007
- Director Kim Ji-hoon
- Cast Kim Sang-kyung, Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Yo-won, Lee Joon-gi, Park Chul-min, Song Jae-ho
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
(ガメラ3 邪神<イリス>覚醒)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1999
- Director Shusuke Kaneko
- Cast Ai Maeda, Shinobu Nakayama, Aki Maeda, Ayako Fujitani, Yu Koyama, Nozomi Ando
- Genre Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Screambox Amazon Channel, ARROW, Midnight Pulp, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Cineverse, Plex, Plex Channel
Nostalgia for the Light
(Nostalgia de la luz)
Where do we come from?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Germany, Chile • 2010
- Director Patricio Guzmán
- Cast Gaspar Galaz, Lautaro Núñez, Luís Henríquez, Miguel, Victor Gonzalez, Vicky Saaveda
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Quiet Family
(조용한 가족)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 1998
- Director Kim Jee-woon
- Cast Park In-hwan, Na Moon-hee, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, Lee Yoon-sung, Go Ho-kyung
- Genre Horror, Comedy, Thriller, Crime
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten Viki, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Freevee, Cineverse
The Concubine
(후궁: 제왕의 첩)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2012
- Director Kim Dae-seung
- Cast Cho Yeo-jeong, Kim Dong-wook, Kim Min-jun, Park Ji-young, Cho Eun-ji, Lee Kyung-young
- Genre Drama
- Available on AsianCrush, Midnight Pulp, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Plex, Plex Channel
Belluscone: A Sicilian Story
(Belluscone - Una storia siciliana)
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2014
- Director Franco Maresco
- Cast Salvatore De Castro, Marcello Dell'Utri, Ciccio Mira, Valentino Picone
- Genre History, Documentary
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
In Ukraine, student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States • 2015
- Director Evgeny Afineevsky
- Cast Cissy Jones, Bishop Agapit, Catherine Ashton, Serhii Averchenko, Kristina Berdinskikh, Pavlo Dobryanskyy
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
1987: When the Day Comes
(1987)
In 1987, college student and activist Park Jong-Chul dies in police custody — the truth of his inhumane interrogation sparks public outrage.
- Korea • 2017
- Director Jang Joon-hwan
- Cast Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Yoo Hae-jin, Kim Tae-ri, Park Hee-soon, Lee Hee-jun
- Genre Drama, History, Thriller
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Midnight Runners
(청년경찰)
Forget the sense of duty and justice!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2017
- Director Kim Joo-hwan
- Cast Park Seo-jun, Kang Ha-neul, Sung Dong-il, Park Ha-sun, Go Joon, Cho Joon
- Genre Action, Comedy, Crime
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel, Kocowa, Fandor, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, AsianCrush, Cineverse, Midnight Pulp, Hoopla, Popflick
The Drug King
(마약왕)
RISE AND FALL OF A DRUG LORD WHO STUNNED THE NATION IN 1970S
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2018
- Director Woo Min-ho
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Cho Jung-seok, Bae Doona, Kim So-jin, Kim Dae-myung, Lee Sung-min
- Genre Crime, Action, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Based on true events, A Taxi Driver is an emotional story of an ordinary man turned hero, a man caught between his simple needs and a greater cause. It is so heartwarming to follow Man-seob's character development throughout this film.