Drive My Car
Released Nov. 24, 2021
Co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Primarily based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name
Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, and Reika Kirishima
Available to rent or buy on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime
Drive My Car is long (about three hours) and challenging. But it is worth your time.
The Plot
Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival. There, he meets Misaki Watari, a young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew. Most compelling is the tension between Yusuke and a handsome TV star who had a brief affair with Yusuke’s late wife. Forced to confront painful truths from his past, Yusuke begins – with the help of his driver – to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind.
What I Liked About Drive My Car
* The lead character was good and charismatic.
* The photography.
* It was clever on several levels. Like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is a story played within this story: Chekov’s Uncle Vanya. But the story that surrounds it, the script of the movie itself, was Chekhovian too.
Interesting
Another movie where sign language is involved. There were at least three in 2021, including CODA. Click here for my review of that one.
Critical Reception
Drive My Car had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it won three awards, including Best Screenplay. It received widespread critical acclaim, with many declaring it one of the best films of 2021. It earned four nominations at the 2021 Academy Awards: Best Picture (a first for a Japanese film), Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Adapted Screenplay. And it won Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Golden Globes.
* “A quiet masterpiece from the Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car is a story about grief, love, and work as well as the soul-sustaining, life-shaping power of art.” (The New York Times)
* “Hamaguchi’s film overflows with surprising references to its literary source materials.” (The New Yorker)
* “Hamaguchi has been one of the most exciting new talents in world cinema for a few years now…. It’s a rare filmmaker who can take the theatrical stage or the inside of a car – and turn them both into spaces of profound human connection.” (NPR)
You can watch the trailer here.
