SPOILER ALERT: the following article contains massive spoilers, including the ending. If you have not yet seen the movie, proceed at your own risk, or better, come back to this article later!
In 1980, a foreign journalist hires a down-on-his-luck taxi driver to take him to Gwangju, South Korea. They soon arrive to find a city under siege by student protesters and the military.
SPOILERS AHEAD
A Taxi Driver Plot Summary and Synopsis
In 1980, Kim Man-seob is a widowed father who works as a taxi driver in Seoul. One day, he overhears another taxi driver talking about a foreign client who has booked him for a trip worth 100,000 won (or roughly 565 USD); the client intends to travel to Gwangju for the day and return to Seoul before curfew. Man-seob rushes off to steal the client.
The client is Jürgen “Peter” Hinzpeter, a West German journalist who wishes to report on the increasing civil unrest in Gwangju. Due to strict censorship, foreign reporters are prohibited from entering the country. Peter pretends to be a missionary in order to enter South Korea. Man-seob meets Peter and lures him into his taxi before heading off to Gwangju.
The two men discover that all the roads leading to Gwangju are blocked and heavily guarded by soldiers. Man-seob tries to convince Peter that they should return to Seoul, but the latter refuses to pay the 100,000 won unless they reach Gwangju. They manage to enter the city after they lie about Peter being a businessman. In Gwangju, they find that all the shops are closed and the streets are deserted. Man-Seob dismisses the severity of the city’s state as he believes that the recent riots were caused by students who only “go to school to protest” in part due to the news reporting misinformation. Peter begins to record his observations on his camera, and the two men meet a group of college students who are riding on a pickup truck.[18] The leader of the group, Yong-pyo, invites Peter aboard. They also befriend English-speaking student, Jae-sik. Man-seob decides to turn back, reluctant to have his taxi damaged in the riots. Along the way, he takes pity on an old woman looking for her son and she leads him to the local hospital. The woman’s son turns out to be Yong-pyo, who is in the hospital with minor injuries. Peter and the college students scold Man-seob for his selfishness and refuse to let Peter pay him until he fulfills the agreed trip.
Man-seob agrees to take Peter and Jae-sik (now acting as translator) through Gwangju. Local protesters welcome the foreign reporter and greet the trio with food and gifts. Peter films violent riots and witnesses soldiers beating protesters. Plainclothed Defense Security Command (DSC) officers see him filming and move to arrest him. The three men evade capture. That evening, Man-seob’s taxi breaks down and they are met by Tae-soo, one of the local taxi drivers. Tae-soo tows the taxi to his shop for overnight repair. Man-seob becomes distressed as his young daughter is home alone and he is unable to contact her as Gwangju’s phone lines have been cut. Tae-soo lets the men stay at his house for the night.
During dinner, they hear an explosion and discover that the television station has been bombed. They head there and Peter films the turmoil. The officers recognize Peter and chase the three men; Jae-sik is captured, but before he is taken away, he yells for Peter to share the footage with the world. Man-seob is assaulted by the leader of the Plainclothes DSC Officers, who accuses the driver of being a communist. Peter rescues Man-seob and the pair run back to Tae-soo’s house.
At dawn, Tae-soo gives Man-seob fake Gwangju license plates as the soldiers are now searching for a Seoul taxi. Alone, Man-seob drives to the nearby town of Suncheon, where he overhears reports of the events in Gwangju; the media falsely claims that the chaos was caused by “rogue groups and rioters”. He is overwhelmed with guilt and drives back to the hospital in Gwangju to find Peter in shock and Tae-soo crying over Jae-sik’s corpse. He reminds Peter of his promise to show the world what is happening in South Korea and encourages him to continue filming.
They film a street where soldiers are mercilessly shooting at civilians. Man-seob and the other taxi drivers use their vehicles to barricade the soldiers from further harming the civilians. The soldiers continue shooting, and the two men arrive at a road blocked by soldiers. Man-seob states that he is taking a foreign businessman away from the turmoil. A young soldier searches the car and finds the license plates from Seoul. However, he remains silent on the discovery and lets them go. The soldiers then receive orders not to let any foreigners out, prompting them to chase the duo and shoot at them.
The pair are rescued by the local taxi drivers, who ram into the military vehicles to distract the soldiers. The taxi drivers are presumably killed in the chase, and Tae-soo ultimately sacrifices himself to allow Man-seob and Peter to escape. The two men make it to the airport, where they bid each other an emotional farewell. Peter asks Man-seob for his name and phone number as he wishes to return to South Korea to visit. Man-seob hesitates but then writes his name and phone number in Peter’s notebook. Peter leaves the country safely.
Peter shares the footage with his superiors and the news is spread all over the world. He searches for “Kim Sa-bok”, only to be told that the latter had provided a false name and phone number. In Seoul, Man-seob happily reunites with his daughter.
23 years later, Peter receives an award in South Korea for his report on the Gwangju Uprising. In his speech, he expresses his gratitude to “Kim Sa-bok” and hopes to see him again someday. Man-seob, still a taxi driver, reads a newspaper article about Peter’s speech and achievements including his words of gratitude towards him. Man-seob then murmurs that he is more grateful to Peter and that he misses him too.
A Taxi Driver Ending
The epilogue states that Peter tried to search for the taxi driver who took him through Gwangju, but he died in 2016 before they could meet again. The film ends with footage of the real Peter, who gives his thanks to “Kim Sa-bok”.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).