A Taxi Driver

This article is about the 2017 South Korean film. For the 1976 Martin Scorsese film, see Taxi Driver. For other uses, see Taxi Driver (disambiguation).

A Taxi Driver
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
택시운전사
Hanja
택시運轉士
Revised RomanizationTaeksi Unjeonsa
Directed byJang Hoon
Written byEom Yu-na
Produced byPark Un-kyoung
Han Seung-ryeong
StarringSong Kang-ho
Thomas Kretschmann
Yoo Hae-jin
Ryu Jun-yeol
CinematographyGo Nak-seon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Kim Jae-bum
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Production
company
The Lamp
Distributed byShowbox
Release date
  • 2 August 2017 (2017-08-02)
Running time
137 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguagesKorean
English
German
Budget₩15 billion[1]
(roughly US$13.8 million)
Box officeUS$88.7 million[2]
(South Korea)

A Taxi Driver (Korean: 택시운전사) is a 2017 South Korean drama film[3] directed by Jang Hoon and written by Eom Yu-na, with Song Kang-ho starring in the lead role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, and Ryu Jun-yeol.[4][5]

Based on a real-life story, the film centers on a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It is based on German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter's interactions with driver Kim Sa-bok; however, as very little information on Kim was known at the time the film was made, most elements regarding his life and the events that happened to him outside of Gwangju are fictional.

The film was released on 2 August 2017, in South Korea.[6] It was very positively received by critics, who praised its unique approach to depicting the Gwangju Uprising events, emotional weight, as well as the main character and his relationship with Hinzpeter, and was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.[7][8] The film was a notable commercial success: it was the second highest-grossing film of 2017 in South Korea, and currently stands as the thirteenth highest-grossing South Korean film in history.[9][10]

  1. ^ "영화 '택시운전사' 1973년식 브리사 택시 복원에만 7개월". Yonhap News Agency. 16 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Taeksi Woonjunsa". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. ^ "A Taxi Driver (2017); Genres: Action, Drama, History - Metacritic". Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Song Kang-ho to star in 'Taxi Driver'". 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  5. ^ "SONG Kang-ho Takes Lead in TAXI DRIVER Depicting the Gwangju Democratization Movement". Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  6. ^ "Big-budget movies to highlight 2017". The Korea Times. 6 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  7. ^ "제90회 아카데미영화상 외국어영화부문 한국영화 출품작 선정 결과". 4 September 2017. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  8. ^ Kil, Sonia (4 September 2017). "Korea Hails 'A Taxi Driver' For Oscar Race". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. ^ "2017 South Korea Yearly Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  10. ^ "KOBIS(발권)통계". Korean Film Council. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.