Beijing Taxi
Directed by Miao Wang
SXSW FILM FESTIVAL
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
SIDEWALK FILM FESTIVAL
MARTHA'S VINEYARD FILM FESTIVAL
INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON
STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL
2010, 78 min
BEIJING TAXI is a feature-length documentary that vividly portrays the ancient capital of China undergoing a profound transformation. The intimate lives of three taxi drivers are seen through a humanistic lens as they navigate a quickly morphing city, confronting modern issues and changing values. The three protagonists radiate a warm sense of humanity despite the struggles that each faces in adapting to new realities of life in the modern city. With stunning imagery of Beijing and a contemporary score rich in atmosphere, BEIJING TAXI communicates a visceral sense of the common citizens’ persistent attempts to grasp the elusive.
Press
Mike Hale, The New York TimesInteresting and Poignant… An attractive and seamless set of images of working-class Chinese life… Elegantly Framed
Mesmerizing
Ronnie Scheib, VarietyUnique perspectives... Imagistic... Revealing... Engrossing
Nicolas Rapold, The Village VoiceThere's something transformative going on in the streets, no doubt, and Soviet kinetic-kino pioneer Dziga Vertov might have liked the film's ethos of a nation on the move.
Michelle Kung, Wall Street JournalEvocative
Stewart Nusbaumer, The Huffington PostAn Outstanding Ride... dips us under the mainstream media's radar screen and places us in the seat of a journey through the capital of China: a lyrical, funny and at times bitter journey... It's gritty and it's beautiful; the focus on the subjects is sharp, yet you also get a sense of the larger China...
Vadim Rizov, Green CineStrikingly gorgeous... Revelatory, an admirably formal presentation of the baseline texture of contemporary Beijing. It's not just valuable for the record, it's elegant in the process.
Matthew Niestel, Box Office MagazineShadowing the ups and bunny-hill downs of three cabbies, Wang's documentary will entreat loads of audiences to get first hand-to-mouth evidence that a nation's prosperity doesn't turn every bean into magical stalk.
Victoria Large, Notcoming.comWang has a gift for defamiliarization, transforming the everyday into something beguiling...
Marc Savlov, The Austin ChronicleRich and culturally challenging.
Math, AustinistQuiet, beautiful, contemplative.
Martin L. Johnson, Baltimore City PaperThe characters in the film are reality-television compelling, and Wang... matches an outsiders fascination about everything with an emigrant's appreciation for what Beijing is leaving behind in their embrace of modernity.
Don Simpson, Smells Like Screen SpiritBeijing Taxi functions on a much higher level...