Taxi Driver (1976) - Twisted Souls In A Twisted World.

★★★★★

I saw this film when I was just a little kid back then. I had no idea what exactly was going on there but its last bloodbath scene really blew my little mind away. I mean it scared the hell out of me for certain. I had never seen such violent, crazy stuff in my life before. And it still haunts me every time I see it.

‘Taxi Driver’, a film by Martin Scorsese, really is a classic that (now I get it) depicts how a city loner that is desperate to get connections and attentions but fails becomes a lunatic in the end and goes extreme. It could be considered a tragedy but the ending seems to suggest the opposite. There’s a letter and several news clippings to imply that Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) has become a hero because he’s saved Iris (Jodie Foster) from her miseries. Of course that’s from an optimist’s point of view. You can perceive it as his dream or dying illusion if you don’t like it. It’s in fact an open ending. ‘Taxi Driver’ is a film that’d make you feel pretty uneasy due to its seemingly bleak yet dreamily hopeful tone. That it’d stay in your mind for quite a long time.

This film is all about how loneliness destroys a man that, unlike the most of us, is after all not good at coping with it. Why would a man feel lonely then? It’s because he thinks he’s somewhat different. That he’s either down below or high above. Travis certainly is the latter as he sees the city he dwells in like a dirty place full of scum. He wants to be a messiah and clean it up. He feels the urge to do something, something big as an awakening. He’s unaware of his coming down with self-pity and extreme loneliness. How could a twisted soul as he is manage to save those that really don’t want to be saved? The way Travis observes New York City and its dwellers is definitely hellish!

Loneliness could be a very dangerous thing if you keep running away from it and pretend it’s not there by indulging yourself in mindless business. It’d break you down like it does to Travis if you don’t accept it as it is, and are even lost in it. As a matter of fact, you ought to embrace it to make it go away, and believe it or not, there’s no better way than meditations to do so. We all don’t like to be alone, but truth is, we always are, from the cradle to the grave.