The multi-award winning comedy THE TAXI THIEF is based on the true story of an unemployed man who borrowed other people’s taxis to drive at night, returning them along with part of his earnings the next morning.
We meet fifty-two-year-old Jose R. (Pepe Rovira), when his career as a taxi thief is already over. He’s been caught and is nervously preparing to stand trial for multiple thefts. The bizarre case has caught the attention of a highly politicized legal aid office, but his lawyer’s (Francesc Arnau) insistence on making a political victim out of him only worries Jose. Far from seeing himself as having made a radical social gesture, he insists he’s a “normal” man who just wants to work. The humorous tension builds as Jose resists becoming a poster boy for the no-global anti-capitalists who have befriended him…
Amusing and compulsively watchable, the sharp social satire of THE TAXI THIEF slices every way, making for an entirely fresh and highly enjoyable ride.
Fictional Documentary, Spain 2005, 87 min. (18+)
Spanish/Catalán with English subtitles
By: Jo Sol With: Pepe Rovira, Makoki, Marc Sampere.
Best new director award, 2005 San Sebastián Film Festival.
Best film and jury special mention award, Nantes 2006. Nominated for Violette d’Or, Toulouse Cinespaña