Taeksi woonjunsa

1980. The movie starts harmless. A widowed taxi driver in Seoul struggling to make ends meet for himself and his little daughter. He more or less wants to do the right thing in a country where circumstances aren't all that well but you can live your life. The movie pulls a few heartstrings here and there but never too much. It is surprisingly tactful and the director wisely steps back from the story and lets good actors paint a picture of everyday life.

Enter a German reporter who smells a good story after being tipped off by a BBC colleague who tells him that the generally tense situation in South Korea somehow got worse recently. He needs a driver and the taxi driver needs the money. It is a relation out of necessity and neither of them actually seem to take a liking to each other.

Both soon have to come to terms with the fact that they put themselves into a situation which has great relevance to their country and their professions. Turning away just isn't possible. "Doing the right thing" means that an average person has to find extraordinary courage.

I have to commend the director and his actors for this eyewitness feeling. It is almost like you're another passenger sitting in that little taxi. You don't watch a movie but you are actually there as it happens. The fact that I was largely ignorant of those events in history makes this movie even more significant.

The end result is a movie which is well-directed, with competent acting and impressive camera work. I had very little to criticize but a lot to think about when I left the show and that -to me- often is the sign of a truly good movie. Go see it!

Seriously,I have no more tears. If well this is a film based on real facts, I think it's reflects at a good way how hard are this historical processes. Song Kang Oh shines like always. Great performance!

In China, we had the same movement, but we failed. We still live in the control of Chinese Communist Party. Why did we fail in 4th June 1989? What should we do for our freedom?

Watched a lot of South Korea cinema, even been there a few times. Had no idea of the events in 1980 depicted in this film. Incredible and inspiring the lengths people will go to for freedom and fairness. As ever, it all worked out quite well - it usually does, keep fighting for what you believe in: democratically diverse and open societies where you can fearlessly voice your views without consequence, they're worth fighting for.

I don't know how much truth I've missed. I'm scared