Taxi

Luc Besson wrote and produced it but gave the direction to Gérard Pirès, who had not made a feature in 15 years and had spent that gap on car commercials, several for Peugeot. The shoot moved from Paris to Marseille over permits and cost, and took 28 days in August 1997. Six Peugeot 406s were built for the chases, one of them with a second steering wheel on the right so professional racers such as Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jean Ragnotti could drive while Samy Naceri mimed at the wheel on camera. The crime side is deliberately thin: Emilien cannot drive, and that one fact carries both the running joke and the machinery of the plot. Akhenaton of the Marseille group IAM scored it and Misirlou opens the picture. At the Césars it figured in seven categories, winning Best Sound for Vincent Arnardi and Vincent Tulli and Best Editing for Véronique Lange, and losing Best Film, Best Director, Most Promising Actor for Naceri, Most Promising Actress for Marion Cotillard and Best Original Music. A good fit if you notice that the chases were really driven through Marseille streets and do not mind how little the police plot weighs. Not for anyone who wants the robbery crew built up as a menace; they are the excuse that keeps the 406 moving.