Taxi (1998)

Directed by: Gerard Pires | 86 minutes | action, comedy, crime | Actors: Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal, Marion Cotillard, Manuela Gourary, Emma Sjöberg, Bernard Farcy, Georges Neri, Guy Quang, Maurice Murcia, Sabine Bail, Dan Herzberg, Sébastien Thiery, Eric Bérenger

The opening scene of ‘Taxi’ features a pizza delivery boy speeding through the streets of Marseille on his scooter. The images are filmed in such a way that it seems as if the viewer is driving directly behind the scooter. The sparks from the exhaust scouring the asphalt splash in our faces. We are introduced to one of our main characters, named Daniel. Luc Besson, the writer of the script, has set the tone with this scene for an action comedy that is somewhere between reality and a comic book world. He knows how to place events that only occur in comic strips in reality. An example of this is the overturning of a speedometer after Daniel whizzes past it at 150 miles per hour. He has handed over the direction to friend Gérard Pirès, but Besson still remains involved with his brainchild, which he reportedly wrote in thirty days.

The story, which doesn’t have much depth, is good enough to contain a lot of humor and action. These elements continuously exchange with each other. The humor is subtly introduced in the dialogues, but also in the various comic scenes. Given the pace of the film, the viewer has few rest points. The lack of depth has ensured that no real character development takes place. The characters are flat and stereotypical, yet the main characters arouse sympathy. Gérard Pirès enlisted the help of real racing drivers (Jean-Pierre Jabouille, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Jutta Kleinschmidt, Henri Pescarolo and Jean Ragnotti) in the staging of the chase scenes. They have choreographed the scenes and the driving of the cars, making them look very spectacular.

A common thread running through the story is France vs. Germany. For example, from the point of view of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Chief Commissioner (Commissaire Gilbert) is not allowed to speak of Krauts, he has a colleague, Petra, who is of German descent and the robbers drive a Mercedes. Daniel, on the other hand, drives a Peugeot again. These are just a few examples of this. Samy Nacéri (Daniel) and Frédéric Diefenthal (Emilien Coutant-Kerbalec) know how to put themselves in the position of the main characters and their interplay is of a good level, but Bernard Farcy in the role of Commissaire Gilbert is head and shoulders above them. His presence and portrayal of the naive and combative commissioner is very humorous. What also stands out is the well-chosen soundtrack. From the first scene with the scooter, rapper Akhenaton (real name Philippe Fragione) has managed to make music that fits the film perfectly. In short: this film is a true “”at(r)axi””!”