Film Review

Paul Clinton

Taiwan’s Oscar submission last year, “The Cabbie,” blends shocking

roadway deaths with a budding love affair between a cab driver and the

officer who gives him citations.

You can see why the academy shied away from this somewhat gruesome

film.

As the story opens, Su Daquan (Tai Bao) drives a cab for his father’s

company. On one of his routine pickups, Su picks up a shady character who

jams a pistol in his face.

His life “flashes before his eyes” -- the affair with the officer

(Hsiu-Ying Cheng) is recounted as a series of memories. In that way,

Zhao-bin Su’s script is reminiscent of the thrillers and police dramas

from Hollywood in the 1940s.

However, “The Cabbie” is much more perverse. It fits right in with the

new round of Asian movies like Takashi Miike’s “Audition.”

In one sequence, Su marvels over the rubble of a bus accident where a

motorcyclist has been decapitated. The two directors -- Chen Yiwen and

Zhang Hua-Kun -- delight in the gore; the camera lingers lovingly over

the corpses.

The love story, on the other hand, has an airy, comic feel. Su goes

out of his way to break traffic laws to strike up a conversation with his

policewoman.

The comedy and horror really don’t jive.

The subdued performances are fairly monotone; the actor’s faces

register only flashes of emotional response to the events.

* “The Cabbie” will play at 4 p.m. Sunday at Edwards Island 1, 999

Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, with an encore screening at 3:30

p.m. Tuesday at Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach.