Diretor Ryusuke Hamaguchi makes a soon to be classic film that deals with unsolved past problems blending great acting with great storytelling.
I confess that writing about the 2021 movie "Drive My Car" directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi requires a lot of thought. This is something in my opinion quite positive for a film that certainly allows for multiple interpretations. The film was based on a short story by Haruki Murakami taken from his book: Men Without Women. He is an actor/director married to a very successful screenwriter, who, like him, are both highly respected in the art world.
The film in its first part introduces us to the couple in their intimate moments in which Yusuke Kafuku (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) listens to the stories told by his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima) in moments of trance because she, the next morning, does not can remember what he said the night before. The couple went through a drama with the loss of their daughter who died at a very young age. Yusuke has a very successful night after performing in a theater play in Tokyo in which Oto introduces him to a young actor Koji Takaksuki who admires Yusuke's work, who is invited to be the theater director of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya play be presented in Hiroshima.
Yusuke then accepts and while driving his red Saab 900c to the airport the flight to Hiroshima is canceled and Yusuke returns home early. Without making any noise he surprises (unnoticed) his wife having sex with the young actor from the night before. Annoyed, Yusuke decides to spend the night at the airport and calls Oto who says she would like to talk to him at night when he returns. Yusuke after a car accident finds out about glaucoma.
When he returns home he discovers that Oto is dead from a brain hemorrhage. After 40 minutes the movie credits roll and the second part starts in Hiroshima where Yusuke meets with the theater producers. There they designate that no artist can drive without a driver and Yusuke is introduced to a female driver (Toko Miura) who at first Yusuke refuses but due to the circumstances imposed by the theater company he is forced to accept. The relationship between the two characters inside the car is one of the main points of the film. As well as the selection of actors for the play "Uncle Vanya" and the choice of Koji Takaksuki as the lead actor for the play that originally requires an older actor, will be crucial in this story. This very well directed film by Hamaguchi, deservedly has been receiving incredible responses from critics and the world audience.
At the Cannes Film Festival, Hamaguchi won 3 awards including best screenplay and best director, also the film won 4 Oscar nominations: Best Picture (first time a Japanese film is nominated), best director, adapted screenplay and best international film. The film has moments of much reflection as its characters slowly begin to reveal their anguish and goals.
Again, this film allows for several very distant points of view because it concerns very intimate moments in which there is no bad personal character, what exists are human beings with very different views from each other, but that the event of the theatrical play somehow brings them together in almost a single character.
The director's choice of actors from several different countries turns out to be a very timely and interesting choice. The film was originally supposed to be shot in Busan (South Korea), but because of the COVID19 pandemic it had to be moved to Hiroshima. I think an even better choice contributes better to the story. Another detail is the Saab 900c which in the original story is yellow but Hamaguchi opted for the red color for being more cinematic.
This film is certainly among the best films of 2021 that in part benefited from the pandemic by portraying the isolation of the characters in a way that contributed to the film's own script. Hiroshima with almost completely empty streets also helps this sense of isolation and desolation at the same time.
I liked this movie a lot, despite being 3 hours long, it never seemed exhausting to me, but I think not everyone shares my opinion. Certainly "Drive my Car" is about repressed feelings and unresolved situations that we all relate to the story in one way or another. Hamaguchi subtly touches us in our unconscious which ends up opening our minds to possibilities. In the end he earns our admiration and respect. (Daniel Nobre)
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