Taxi (I) (1998)

To work off his tarnished driving record, a hip taxi driver must chauffeur a loser police inspector on the trail of German bank robbers.

Director:

Gérard Pirès

Writer:

Luc Besson

Stars:

Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal, Marion Cotillard

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Samy Naceri	...	Daniel Morales
Frédéric Diefenthal	...	Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec
Marion Cotillard	...	Lilly Bertineau
Manuela Gourary	...	Camille Coutant-Kerbalec
Emma Wiklund	...	Petra (as Emma Sjöberg)
Bernard Farcy	...	Commissaire Gibert
Georges Neri	...	Joe
Guy Quang	...	Pizza Joe Motorcyclist
Maurice Murcia	...	Pensioned Taxi Driver
Sabine Bail	...	Femme Préfecture
Dan Herzberg	...	Paulo
Sébastien Thiery	...	Driving Instructor
Eric Bérenger	...	Butcher (as Eric Berenger)
Philippe du Janerand	...	Passenger to Airport
Christophe Fesquet	...	Flic Radar #1

Storyline

In Marseilles (France), skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien, a loser inspector who can't drive, on the track of German bank robbers, so he doesn't lose his license and his dream job.

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Plot Keywords:

pizza delivery boy | taxi | marseille | police | first of series | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German Korean Portuguese

Release Date:

20 November 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Taksi

Filming Locations:

Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 53,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£45,337 (UK) (26 November 1999)

Gross:

£45,337 (UK) (26 November 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARP Sélection, TF1 Films Production, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just before filming was supposed to begin, director Gérard Pirès fell off a horse and needed to stay in hospital for a few weeks. During this time Gérard Krawczyk (who would later direct the sequels Taxi 2 and Taxi 3) filled in on-set while Pirès watched the dailies at the end of each day to check on the progress of filming.

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Goofs

When Émilien puts the police light on top of the car, he closes the door on the wire. When he pulls it back inside the car, he pulls it through the window, which he shouldn't be able to do.

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Quotes

Lilly Bertineau: Flowers! Can we smoke them?

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Connections

Referenced in The Legend of Speed (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Le Permis"
by Akhenaton, La Cosca

User Reviews

Nice French action comedy

Written by Luc Besson (director of 'Léon' and 'The Fifth Element') this French film is funnier and with better action than most American blockbusters. It tells the story of Daniel (Samy Naceri) who starts as a taxi driver. He is an excellent driver but he never rides by the rules. With the police his taxi is famous, although they have never caught him or even seen a license plate. One day Daniel takes a woman Camille (Manuela Gourary) to her home and she says she will keep his card to call again. She does when her son Émilien (Frédéric Diefenthal) needs a ride. Daniel, who thinks Émilien works with IBM, of course disobeys all the rules and at the end of the ride Émilien reveals his true identity.

Fortunately for Daniel the police has some trouble with a Mercedes-gang. Bank robbers who even inform the police before they rob a bank, with a Mercedes as the getaway car. Since Daniel knows much of cars he can help Émilien solve the case and keep his drivers license. Émilien desperately wants to solve this case because he wants to impress Petra (Emma Sjöberg), the girl he is in love with but always looks down on him. Daniel agrees since his driving is his life. He has to miss a lot of quality time with his girlfriend Lilly (Marion Cotillard) for this.

I agree with you if you say the story sounds familiar. That part is not very original although it has some original touches. Daniel, for example, was a pizza delivery boy before he started his job as a taxi driver and the early scenes that deal with this fact are a lot of fun to watch. But the story is not what 'Taxi' is about. It is about funny moments and some good action. I have to admit there are plenty of funny moments, every scene between Daniel and Lilly is terrific, the action looks good and the cinematography for this kind of movie is perfect. Although the character of Daniel can get on your nerves, a little too much of a wise guy, Samy Naceri does a nice job portraying him.

In the end I enjoyed this movie very much. The clichés and simple choices sometimes (the bad guy grabs his gun the minute Émilien reveals himself as a police officer who wants to ask some questions) can not spoil the fun the movie has, and therefore the audience. Don't expect a 'Lethal Weapon' but it is not that far from it.