The Millionaire Taxi Driver

The Millionaire Tax Driver (El taxista millonario) is a Colombian comedy film released in December 1979 directed by Gustavo Nieto Roa and starring Carlos "El Gordo" Benjumea and Rosa Gloria Chagoyán.

Plot
José is a taxi driver in Bogotá. He drives a 1946 taxi that is falling apart and repeatedly breaks down. His mother and three younger brothers depend on José to support the family. Despite his struggles, José lives his life with joy and optimism.

José becomes infatuated with a beautiful nightclub showgirl, Verónica, but she rejects him due to his economic condition.

After robbing a bank, the gang of robbers becomes involved in a shutout with the police. Two of the robbers stop José's taxi at gunpoint and force him to help them escape. As the robbers run from the taxi, they leave behind two bags containing millions of pesos. José hides the money, spending it on gifts for his family, on a new taxi, on new clothes, and on impressing Verónica, who changes her mind about José.

The police suspect José of being one of the robbers. José is also pursued by the robbers who beat him and then kidnap Verónica and demand he return the money. As José attempts to return the money, he is followed by the police. The police seize the money and arrest the robbers as well as José and Verónica.

At the trial, José persuades the court that he is innocent. The actual robbers are sentenced to 30 years in prison. At the end of the trial, José learns that a lottery ticket he received from a dying relative is the winner.

Production information
The film was directed by Gustavo Nieto Roa. It was one of several film collaborations between Nieto Roa and Carlos Benjumea. Nieto Roa wrote the screenplay with Ignacio Ramírez. The theme music that recurs throughout the film was composed by Roberto Campuzano. Mario González was the cinematographer. The film was released on Christmas Day in 2007, and distributed by Centauro Films and Cine Colombia. The film had a running time of 98 minutes.

Themes and reception
Though presented as a comedy, Nieto Roa described the film as "a serious study on the middle class."

The film was enormously popular. For more than a decade, it was the highest grossing film in the history of Colombian cinema, and it remained in second place for another 30 years.

In his book "Cine y nación", Simón Puerta Domínguez described it as "Nieto Roa's film that best represents the continuity of affirmative melodramatic cinema, as well as its transformation to the ambiguous and incredulous context of the time."

Cast

 * Carlos "El Gordo" Benjumea, as José, el taxista
 * Rosa Gloria Chagoyán, as Verónica, the night club star
 * Jaqueline Henríquez
 * Delfina Guido
 * Chela del Río, as José's mother
 * Jairo Soto, as the leader of the thieves
 * Humberto Arango
 * Mario Sastre