Taxi (1998)
Directed by Gérard Pirès

Film Review

Like many modest French films, Taxi has proved to be a phenomenon which vastly exceeded the expectations of its production team and critics.  In France alone, the film achieved 6 million entries, and the inevitable sequel, Taxi 2, was no less successful.  Allegedly, the script was dashed out by Luc Besson in next to no time, the film was made on a very modest budget, compared with similar Hollywood films, with not a single star name.  Yet the film is one of the most profitable ever to have been made in France and has received unprecedented celebrity and media attention.

But, aside from all the hype, is it a good film?  True, on the face of it, it looks like just another high-octane cops and robbers movie which may easily have tumbled out of late 1970s Hollywood.   There are shoot-outs and car chases galore, there isn't much time for developing characters, and the dialogue is more than a little unconvincing.  You might think that it has all be seen before and that Taxi has nothing more to add.  In that case, unless you had a pathological aversion to such films, you'd be quite wrong.

Putting aside the incredibility of the plot and the fact that most characters in the film are blatant caricatures, Taxi is an entertaining and exciting piece of cinema - hilariously funny in places.  What sets it apart from the high-speed American films which it appears to emulate is its typically French laid-back approach and a relentless sense of fun.  This is not a film to be taken seriously, by any stretch of the imagination.

In some ways, Taxi is a parody of similar American films.  Its central story is a struggle of good against evil, with a subtext about the importance of putting others before yourself.  But, lacking the awful American sentimentality or gritty realism which has a tendency to mar such films, Taxi has a naïvety and freshness that is genuinely invigorating and helps us to forgive its deficiencies.

In summary, whilst it scores low in credibility, intellectual content and characterisation, Taxi triumphs in other areas. Visually, it is stunning, from start to finish - packed with stunts that easily rival anything achieved on the other side of the Atlantic.  Its lead actors, Samy Naceri and Frédéric Diefenthal are instantly likeable and contribute much to the film's good humour and comic flair.  This is not an intellectually demanding film but it is great fun to watch.

Film Synopsis

In Marseilles, a pizza delivery boy, Daniel, quits his job and starts up as a taxi driver.  His car has been especially souped-up to have the power of a formula one racing car, which he frequently demonstrates to passengers and traffic police.  Daniel is showing off his car's performance to a young man, Émilien, without realising that the latter is in truth a plain clothes policeman. Émilien - a hapless incompetent - agrees to turn a blind eye, providing Daniel helps him to capture a band of notorious German bank robbers.  Daniel reluctantly agrees to help out Émilien...