"Paris Taxi" Director Christian Carrion You can only understand a problem when you are moved [Director's Interview Vol.301]

" Taxi Driver " (76), " Driving Miss Daisy " (1989), " Night on Earth " (1991), " Taxi Driver " (17), " Green Book " (18), etc. , a new film has been added to the collection of masterpieces about taxis and drivers. The French movie ``Paris Taxi'' is about a taxi driver who is facing a crisis in his life, and when he happens to be given a ride with a 92-year-old madam, their lives change dramatically. The film was directed by Christian Carrion, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for ` `Aria '' (2005). How did the director create this taxi movie? I spoke to him.

"Paris Taxi" synopsis

Charles, a taxi driver in Paris, is facing the biggest crisis of his life. With no money, no time off, and on the verge of having his driver's license suspended, he won't be able to see his beloved family. By chance, he receives a request to transport a madam to the other side of Paris. The 92-year-old madam's name is Madeleine. As she approaches the end of her life, she asks Charles, ``Hey, could you please take a detour?'' The city of Paris, where he spent his life, is full of secrets. With each detour, Madeleine's extraordinary past is revealed. And what was supposed to be a simple drive turns into an amazing journey that will change the lives of these two forever!

Index

• First virtual production of French film
• Understanding born from emotion

First virtual production of French film

Q: Even though it's just a day trip around Paris by taxi, it feels like a long journey. How did you strike a balance between the scenes inside the taxi and the flashback scenes?

Carrion: At the scripting stage, there was a 50/50 balance between present and past, but in the finished film, the present scenes are longer than the past scenes. I realized that the inside of the taxi with Charles and Madeleine was an enclosed and beautiful place. I also like the idea of ​​traveling by taxi.

Q: There have been many masterpieces about taxis and drivers, but what was it like actually making them?

Carrion: It's true that there are so many taxi movies that there could be a film festival just for them (lol). Photographing the inside of a taxi is more difficult than you might think. I had previously experienced shooting inside a car when I was filming a movie called `` The Farewell : The Sorrowful Spy '' (2009), and at that time I had the experience of shooting inside a car in Spielberg's `` Crash! ” (71). For this work, we placed LED panels around the car and filmed it in a virtual production format. It was a very good experience.

"Paris Taxi" © 2022 - UNE HIRONDELLE PRODUCTIONS, PATHE FILMS, ARTÉMIS PRODUCTIONS, TF1 FILMS PRODUCTION

Q: I was surprised to find out later that it was filmed using virtual production. I didn't notice it because it didn't feel strange at all.

Karion: That makes me happy. thank you. Movie shooting is full of lies (lol), so it's a great joy to have people think it's true. This is the first French film to use virtual production. It has been used in Hollywood for a while, and I think we were able to use it well given our small budget. If I had the chance to use it again, I would like to do it more boldly.

Understanding born from emotion