A Taxi Driver is a gem

We learn that in 1980 a military dictatorship violently tried to put down student protests in South Korea.  The poster for "A Taxi Driver" (2017) seems to indicate a comedy, but it is not.

A dictator had gained control of South Korea and at this time his main obstacle seemed to be student protests who were of course described as radical and Communist.  The media was tightly controlled and the outside world was given a false narrative.  A German journalist in Japan, Jurgen Hinzpeter, heard about the suppressed riots and decided to fly to Korea to get the story.  He realized there was no easy way to get to Gwangiu, site of the riots, so thought if he used  large money he could hire a taxi driver.  Kim Sa-bok, heavily in debt was quick to see an opportunity and skipped the line to get the job.  He didn't realize the danger, but soon learned and tried to back out.  Eventually he felt a grave injustice was being inflicted on Korea and rescued the reporter and his film.  The script is based on a true story about a reporter and a taxi driver keeping their real names for the story.

There is a lot of violence and action (especially with cars).  Killing is almost without thought, as a dictator is determined the true story doesn't reach the outside world.  Human relations are important as there is resistance from local taxi drivers being influenced by a student.  Kim Sa-Bok was a widower with an 11 year old daughter left on her own who was helped logically, but also surprisingly. 

My reason for seeking out this movie was the actor I consider a star and an indicator of a good film.  Song Kang-Ho is not glamorous, but I have stumbled on a number of his films and am amazed how a character actor can be a leading actor.  "A Taxi Driver" is a good example.  See below for more information on him.

A lot of effort was put into this award winning film and here are a few of the contributors.  

Hun Jang was the director.  He got his start working working with production departments.  He went on to have 5 directing credits, 1 for writing and 1 as an assistant director. 

Yu Na Eom was the writer.  Another film she worked on was to do with the Korean dictionary that helped maintain the Korean language.  She has 2 writing credits and 1 for directing.

Cho Young-wuk was the music composer.  He got his start as he once wrote about film music for a radio show.  He was asked to recommend someone to pick music for a movie and he took the job.  This award winning composer has 74 composing credits, 9 for the music department and 2 for producing including "Oldboy" (2003),  "Thirst" (2009), "Glove" (2011), "The Attorney" (2011), "Joint Security Area" (2010), "The Beauty Inside" (2011), "The Tiger" (2015), "The Handmaiden" (2016), "The Man Standing Next" (2022) and "Decision to Leave" (2022).   See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/02/decision-to-leave.html  and  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/07/broker-japanese-korean-collaboration.html

Nak seon Go was the cinematographer.  He has 15 cinematography credits and 1 for the camera & electrical department including "The Man Standing Next" (2020).

Kim Sang-beom was the editor.  He has 141 editing credits and 2 for producing including "Oldboy" (20023), "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2005), "Thirst" (2009), "Hope" (2013), "The Attorney" (2013), "The Handmaiden" (2016), "Asura" (2025) and "Decision to Leave" (2022).   See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/11/hope-gut-wrenching-film-from-korea.html

Song Kang-Ho played Kim Sa Bok, the taxi driver.  He is also one actor with his own post http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/12/song-kang-ho.html which gives a fuller picture of his stature.  He is a heavily awarded actor and is revered by many directors.  He started in theatre at one time offering to work cleaning services to maintain working for the theatre.  In 2020 the New York Times compiled a list of the top international actors and he was listed as number 6.  With a slight hiatus he has been active in commercials and was noted for increasing sales of a liquor in Japan. Some of his film credits include "Joint Security Area" (2000), "The Host" (2006), "Thirst" (2009), "The Attorney" (2013), "The Age of Shadows" (2016)  "Snowpiercer" (2013) "Parasite" (2019) and "Broker" (2022).  Americans can see him in 3 episodes of "Beef" (2026), a popular American tv. series.   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/parasite-breaks-oscar-tradition.html

Thomas Kretschmann played Jurgen Hinzpeter, the reporter.  He has 144 acting credits (including German and American films) and 8 for voice dubbing including "Stalingrad" (1993), "The Pianist" (2002), "Downfall" (2004), "Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot" (2016) and "Gran Turismo" (2023).

Ryu Jun-Cheol played Gu Jae-sik, a student protester.  He has 25 acting credits.  At the moment I am just past half way watching him in the highest rated Korean series "Reply 1988" (2015-16) for which he is in all 20 episodes.

Lee Jeung-eun played a hostess for the taxi driver and reporter.  She started in theatre and now has 63 film acting credits including "Mother" (2009), "Okja" (2017), "Parasite" (2019), "Our Blues" (2022-23) and "Daily Dose of Sunshine" (2023).  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/daily-dose-of-sunshine.html

I was interested to see this film, but it did not seem to be available on any of the usual streaming services, but my library membership allowed me to watch it for free with subtitles.  Kanopy is available through libraries throughout Canada and the United States.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favourite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.

Decision to Leave

An apology is in order.  When I wrote this blog I thought it was nominated for an Oscar, but I was wrong.  Some critics had said it should have been nominated.  Having read much hype about the movie and actually having seen it I feel it is worthy of prestigious awards which in fact it has already won such as Cannes and  Bafta.

 "Decision to Leave" (2022 has been short listed for the upcoming Oscar awards.  It has already won a director's award at the recent Cannes Festival.  A big draw seems to be the director and co-writer, Park Chan-wook.  More on him later, but first a bit on the film itself.

Hae-jun is described as an insomniac detective asked to investigate the death of a man fallen from a rock climbing site.  It seems simple enough, but when Hae-jun and his partner Soo-wan approach the widow, Seo-rae with the news she takes it too calmly and arouses suspicions. We learn that Seo-rae is an immigrant from China only allowed to stay in Korea because her Grandfather had been a Korean independence fighter  We also learn that she killed her mother with fentanyl pills as requested.  Hae-jun rules her husband's death a suicide, but Soo-wan is not convinced and later Hae-jun encounters more suggestive evidence, but decides to cover it up.

He is fascinated by Seo-rae, but the script goes 13 months in advance.  Hae-jun's wife worked at a nuclear facility in Ipo allowing her to visit only once a week.  Hae -jun decided to move in order to be closer to her.  He meets Seo-rae with a new husband,  Ho-shin, an investment banker.  The next day he is found dead at the family pool.  Certainly suspicious, but more complicated.  Hae-jun agrees to help, but his wife has had enough and leaves.

Along the way  a few unusual scenes.  A few are devoted to insects crawling around and in dead bodies to demonstrate how grotesque a policeman's job can be.  Rock climbing to provide some perilous action on slippery surfaces and also to demonstrate how thorough the police can be.  A theme is the role of sleep with various discussions of what works, but Seo-rae has her own methods.  Mist was one of the requirements to create the right mood and Ipo fits the bill.

A memorable quote:  "Killing is like smoking; only the first time is hard."  

To put together requires a lot of talent.

Start with Park Chan-wook. the director and co-writer.  The DVD special features and Wikipedia were very interesting.  Known for sex and violence, but for this he has toned down (not eliminated) both elements.  He commented that audiences remember the violence, but romance is a big part of what he offers.  Humor plays a big role, but he tries to make sure it can be understood by an international audience.  The best humor reminds the audience of their own experience.  Humor off negative emotions causes confusion.   He studied philosophy in university and while there formed a cinema club.  His first film efforts were not successful and he had to write film reviews to survive.  However, "Joint Security Area" (2000) was the highest grossing Korean film to date and was critically acclaimed.  He has won numerous awards.  His film credits include "Oldboy" (2003)"Thirst" (2009), "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002),  "Lady Vengeance" (2005), "Snowpiercer" (2013) and "The Handmaiden" (2016). 

His co-writer Chung Seo-kyung has helped him on all his features since 2005.  She got his attention winning a short film contest juried by him. She has done a few other projects on her own, including most recently a tv. series. Their collaboration has evolved and now essentially involves a discussion, then she does a first draft and then the two get together with two monitors and two keyboards and make revisions simultaneously.  At one time she wrote female roles, but now it is difficult to tell which wrote either of the male or female roles.  Chan-wook usually polishes the final script.

Music is composed by Jo Yeong-wook.  He has been a prolific award winner including for this film.  "The Handmaiden" (2016) is one of my very favorite film scores.  Other credits include "Oldboy" (2003), "Glove" (2011),  "The Attorney" (2013), and "The Tiger" (2015).

Kim Ji-yong, the cinematographer is another prolific award winner including for this film.  His film credits include "Miss Granny" (2014), "The Age of Shadows" (2016), "Okja" (2017) and "Swing Kids" (2018).

Editing was done by Kim Sang-beom, another big award winner, including for this film.  Some of his other credits include:  "Oldboy" (2003), "The Throne" (2015) and "The Handmaiden" (2016)

Park Hae-il plays Hae-joon.  He has also won a lot of awards including for this film.  His film credits include "Memories of Murder" (2003)

Tang Wei plays Seo-Rae.  She is a Chinese actress married to a Korean actor/director.  She is still another big award winner including for this film and in Chinese and Korean films.  Her screen credits include "Lust, Caution" (2007).

Lee Jung-hyun plays Jeong-ahn and also has won some acting awards, but is perhaps better known as a pop singer across Asia.

 Teo Yoo plays Lee June and has a surprising background.  He was born and educated in Germany and went to the U.S. and Britain for acting training.   He recently played the male lead in "Love to Hate You"  (2023).  Another film credit is "Chocolate" (2019).

Difficult to predict which film will win the foreign film Oscar, but sorting through the top nominations assures some entertaining high quality productions.

Note:  I have bolded the first mention of movies I have seen.  In this film there was a great deal of interaction between cast and crew indicating a high level of talent.