Taximetristi

This is no gem, no revelation, no world changer, not polished, no kind art, but also no fault.

The story is very Romanian in the cultural sense, there is no base line, it starts up, it goes down fast, then up, then down etc, and then in the end it goes really down, but then life continues, despite everything else.

Once in the story, which presents the fauna of nightlife for backside couches of taxis in Bucharest, one gets to de-bone each vertebrate in the same high-up vs low-down style of the coin and back-side situation. And it works, it feels a little short, with less of the background included, but it goes bullseye to the problems, the nature of people, the characters, and it obtains in the viewer, at least the one accepting the screen story, a real development.

Aiming for that base line, that one needs to put its life in balance.

Oh, where do I even begin with Taximetristi (2023)? I had such high hopes for this movie, but boy, was I in for a major letdown! I mean, I must say, I wasn't just disappointed; I was positively stupefied by how awful it turned out to be.

From the very start, it's as if the filmmakers conspired to bore me to tears. The plot was so cliché and predictable that I could have written a better story in my sleep - which, by the way, I practically did because this film was so mind-numbingly dull that I couldn't help but doze off!

The characters were just as lifeless as a taxidermied animal. I felt no connection, no empathy, and certainly no interest in their fates. It's like they were trying to make a statement about existentialism, but all I got was a headache from rolling my eyes too hard.

And the pacing! Oh, don't get me started on the pacing. It was slower than a tortoise wearing cement shoes. I kept waiting for something, anything, to happen, but it was just one long, tedious snoozefest.

I have to give them some credit for the cinematography; at least, the visuals were somewhat decent. But, alas, a few pretty shots do not a good movie make.

It's truly baffling how a film like this even got made. Did anyone read the script before greenlighting this disaster? Were the actors sleepwalking through their roles? I wouldn't be surprised if they were, considering how easy it was to doze off while watching.

In conclusion, Taximetristi (2023) was a total waste of time. If you're suffering from insomnia, maybe consider this movie as an alternative to counting sheep. For everyone else seeking entertainment, steer clear of this snooze-inducing catastrophe. Save yourself the agony and watch something that won't make you question your life choices.

One of the better Romanian scripts for a comedy from the last 10-20 years. Obscenities aside, its vignettes are pretty good and tell a deeper story but the story from underneath it all is the one that is grounded and pretty real, emotion wise. We get to know these two characters, these two sad taxi drivers - fun fact: trist in taximetrist means sad - to their very core, we understand not only them but a very big chunk of their generation, my generation.

We no longer blame the government but we are looking within when something doesn't go our way. We blame ourselves, we are maturing from this point of view. We are getting there. There was a glimpse when one of the drivers wanted to go the political route but he was destroyed, when a client opened his eyes its all his fault for the situation he is in. It's the capitalist way.

Beside this, great sound and a different coloring of this night life, not usual to romanian cinema.

A good movie, not a great one, but a good one. Some characters are strong and the actors that protraied them did their job. The story is pretty good, some slices of what happens in the city at night, with happiness and sadness, with joy and anger, love and hate, it's all there. For some of them it could have done a bit more, to offer a context, or to find out what happened next, but in the end, as a taxi driver, this is exactly what you see: take people from point A to point B, drop them off and that's it. You go back to your live, you don't know what happend to the ones you travelled with. Good job!

Why is the movie so high rated? Just because it shows really well our reality that most of viewers live in?

• "Funny"

I barely smiled twice with no laughing at all the entire movie. It is supposed to be a comedy. Some other users said they were crying. I have absolutely no clue why. There is a somehow sad part, but I've seen muuuuuuuuch better emotions presented in a lot of other movies.

• "Made me cry"

Spoiler-free, what happens "sad" in the end is a very childish situation based on lack of communication between 2 characters. All main characters are over 30 years old. I am in my 20s and can still say they were childish discussions.

• Lack of a story

The movie is more like a collection of little stories. More than half of the script is based on 2 taxi drivers having some car rides that do not lead anywhere.

• Lack of character development

• "It is extremely realistic"

First of all, it is your reality. In mine, there is extremely few swearing. Secondly, so what it is realistic? Seen so many movies and series with realistic events that made me feel something. This movie just made me disappointed for losing my time.