Taxi

PLOT

Daniel Morales (Samy Naceri) is a highly talented driver living in Marseille, France, who has little regard for traffic laws and the police, and is in a loving relationship with his girlfriend Lilly (Marion Cotillard). He leaves his job as a delivery man at local pizza parlor "Pizza Joe" to become a taxi driver, driving his white custom 1997 Peugeot 406, which is equipped with various racing modifications that are mechanically concealed.

Émilien (Frédéric Diefenthal) is a young bumbling police inspector who lives with his widowed mother, and has just failed his 8th driver's test. No one takes him seriously at work, including police sergeant Petra (Emma Sjöberg), towards whom he harbors an unrequited crush. Commissioner Gibert (Bernard Farcy) soon briefs the officers on a new case: a German gang that has successfully committed a series of high profile robberies throughout Europe, and has now arrived in Marseille. The gang is known for their efficiency, skilled driving, and their use of red Mercedes-Benz 500E cars as escape vehicles. Anticipating the gang's next move, Gibert places police officers around the targeted bank. After the robbers enter the bank, Émilien accidentally causes a multi-vehicle collision and a gun fight with the French Minister's escort convoy, allowing the Germans to escape.

The next day, Émilien decides to take a taxi to work and rides with Daniel. Not knowing his fare's occupation, Daniel shows off his car and breaks several traffic laws. Émilien detains Daniel, but then asks for his help with catching the German gang in exchange for returning Daniel's license - desperate for respect and Petra's attention. Looking at photos of the getaway cars, Daniel concludes that the tires come from a garage owned by Kruger, the only German mechanic in town. Daniel reluctantly joins Émilien at a stakeout of the garage, where they spot the German robbers. The next morning, Émilien tries to interrogate Kruger, who opens fire at the duo and escapes.

The police locate the gang's next target and manage to shoot a tracking device onto one of the cars. However, the gang stops at a secluded garage and repaints the cars silver, inadvertently sabotaging the tracking device and allowing them to escape again. Émilien then learns that he had left the stove on at his flat and burned it down, forcing him and his mother to stay at Daniel's place. Eager to get rid of Émilien, Daniel correctly deduces the gang's repaint strategy, and through a friend he tracks the robbers to a race track. Daniel provokes the gang into a race and wins, and later gives Émilien the courage to approach Petra romantically. The duo then become friends, and devise a plan to finally catch the gang red-handed.

The next day, Émilien has duplicated the control keys to twenty traffic lights throughout the city, and provides Daniel with a closed radio line. Daniel recruits his old co-workers from Pizza Joe, to whom Emilien distributes the keys and walkie-talkies. After the gang drives away from another robbery, Daniel follows them and successfully taunts the Germans into another race. As the delivery men use the traffic lights to clear a path for the cars, the cars drive onto the freeway. Daniel then speeds towards a bridge that is under construction, and slams on the brake; the gang's cars jump over the gap and lands on the other side, only to discover that they are trapped on an incomplete bridge section.

After the gang is arrested, Daniel and Émilien are given medals by the police commissioner, and Émilien begins dating Petra. The film ends with Daniel competing at the French Grand Prix in a Formula 3000, sponsored by (to Daniel's dismay) the Marseille Police.

CAST

Samy Naceri: Daniel Morales

Frédéric Diefenthal: Émilien Coutant-Kerbalec

Marion Cotillard: Lilly Bertineau

Emma Sjöberg: Petra

Richard Sammel: German gang chief

Bernard Farcy: Commissaire Gérard Gibert

Édouard Montoute: Alain Trésor

Tara Römer: Émilien's colleague

Niels Dubost: Karl, second German thief

Frank Libert: third German thief

Stephan Crisz: fourth German thief

Manuela Gourary [fr]: Camille Coutant-Kerbalec

Georges Neri [fr]: Joe

Dan Herzberg: Paulo

Sébastien Pons: Akim

Malek Béchar: Marco

Guy Quang: pizza deliverer

Maurice Murcia: retired taxi driver

Sabine Bail: prefecture employee

Sébastien Thiéry [fr]: driving license examiner

Éric Bérenger: butcher

Philippe du Janerand [fr]: customer in a rush

Christophe Fesquet: first cop

Gérard Vantaggioli [fr]: second cop

Christian Mazucchini: police elite driver

Guillaume Lanson: redneck sniper

Gérard Dubouche: Gibert's driver

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In French with English subtitles