Film Review #197: Poor Taxi 辽河的士

A Review of  Poor Taxi 辽河的士 (2025) 

Poor Taxi (辽河的士) , directed by independent filmmaker Zhuo Kailuo and executive produced by Geng Jun (Bel Ami) , is a Chinese tragicomedy that premiered at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and later earned nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Film Song at the Golden Horse Awards.

The film centres on Tie Jun, an unlicensed tricycle driver scraping by on the margins. When he injures a pedestrian, Hai Cheng, in a road accident, he is drawn into an escalating compensation dispute. Tie Jun enlists the reluctant assistance of his neighbour, Qianjin, and together the three idiosyncratic, middle-aged men attempt to navigate their uneasy predicament.

Plot takes a backseat in Poor Taxi; rather, it unfolds as a loose yet incisive social commentary. It paints a bleak portrait of a modern world governed by transactional relationships, where survival often outweighs morality. Several striking moments underscore this theme: rival tricycle drivers fiercely wrestling over a passenger for profit; characters exchanging sexual services purely for money; and a recurring gag involving a dubious “miracle” drug dominating the market. Together, these vignettes form a pessimistic yet uncomfortably familiar depiction of a dog-eat-dog society, where exploitation becomes a necessary strategy for survival.


As the narrative progresses, the trio’s relationships unravel, and hidden truths begin to emerge. While the film only lightly leans into its more “twisty” elements, these moments elevate the otherwise meandering structure. Interactions with supporting characters further reinforce the film’s central idea: that every relationship is, at its core, transactional. Beneath this harsh reality, however, lies a quieter, more poignant undercurrent of emotional emptiness. Whether shaped by financial hardship, physical limitations, or social isolation, the characters are ultimately portrayed as lonely individuals striving for something better.

Despite the grim social commentary, the film maintains a somewhat lighthearted tone, often using humour to gently mock its characters and their predicaments. These comedic elements are the highlight of the film, keeping viewers engaged even when the narrative slows. I especially enjoyed the film’s use of whip pans, which sweep dynamically across the characters, infusing the scenes with a playful, kinetic energy.

That said, the film’s looseness also proves to be a weakness. Its lack of a strong dramatic structure and limited emotional depth make it difficult to fully invest in the narrative. Several plot threads are introduced but left underdeveloped, resulting in a film that feels thematically rich yet narratively incomplete.


The ending arrives as something of a surprise — enigmatic, surreal, but ultimately bleak. The final scene literally seems to evoke the idiom “the grass is always greener on the other side,” suggesting that the fantasy of an ideal, carefree life, of forgetting life’s burdens and simply dancing, remains just that: an illusion. It’s a rather ambiguous and unconventional conclusion, yet the film earns praise for daring to subvert expectations with an artistic flourish.

Overall, Poor Taxi offers a thought-provoking study of exploitation and survival in contemporary society, a timely theme that interrogates the human — and inhuman — tendencies in us all.

 
Poor Taxi is set to be screened at this year’s Singapore Chinese Film Festival. For tickets and more details, visit https://www.scff.sg/

About the author: Jayden is a youth filmmaker who enjoys immersing himself in the diversity of cinema across genres, cultures, and time periods. Through working on narrative short films and non-fiction videos, he hopes to further develop his craft in storytelling through the medium of film.