Drive My Car

DRIVE MY CAR
2021 | Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi | 179 Minutes

"If you really want to look at someone, then your only option is to look at yourself squarely and deeply."

Theater director Yūsuke Kafuku travels to Hiroshima to lead a production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya designed to feature an international cast of actors performing their roles in their own native languages. The theater company requires Kafuku to be chauffeured by a young taciturn driver Misaki Watari, depriving him of the simple pleasure of driving his coveted red Saab 900, challenging his stringent routines. Kafuku and his appointed driver gradually form an understated but powerful bond as the pair commiserates over their respective interpersonal traumas.

Based on Haruki Murakami's short story of the same name while incorporating elements of other short stories by the renowned writer, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car is a sprawling epic of human emotion. Expertly paced and tonally varied, as the plot twists and turns in often unpredictable ways throughout the film's extended run time, its central characters remain compellingly vulnerable. Unconventionally structured, the first forty minutes of the picture establish the context of Yūsuke's emotional baggage, telling a tale of love, betrayal, and loss before the opening credits even roll. The central story that follows is a thematic deep dive into communication and flawed human relationships that are difficult to fully embrace, featuring imperfect characters that feel remarkably earnest.

Hidetoshi Shinomiya's cinematography is splendid, if somewhat sterile, but absolutely appropriate for this film. The film presents the streets of Tokyo, Hiroshima, and rural Japanese roads with a distinct stark beauty. The visit to the waste disposal facility in Hiroshima and the impromptu journey to Watari's hometown during the film's climax are sequences that truly stand out, perfectly reflecting the emotional state of the two leads.

As Kafuku, Hidetoshi Nishijima gives a heartfelt performance, skillfully conveying a deep well of pain on the verge of overflowing for most of the picture. As Kafuku's driver Watari, Tōko Miura puts on a cool and controlled demeanor that is fascinating to observe as it eventually softens. Masaki Okada manages to make dirt bag pretty boy actor Kōji Takatsuki a compelling character, going a long way to sell his big dramatic moments towards the end of the film. The cast also features Park Yu-rim delivering an enchanting supporting turn as the deaf actress Lee Yoo-na, Jin Dae-yeon as Yoo-na's good-natured producer husband Gong Yoon-soo, and Reika Kirishima as Yūsuke's enigmatic wife Oto.

Drive My Car is an emotionally powerful picture about failure to communicate and the struggle to accept the undesirable aspects of those we are meant to love unconditionally. The film is a consistently engrossing journey that beautifully distills the intricacies of human interaction while examining radically complex interpersonal relationships with appropriate humor and gravity.

FRAGMENTS
- The film was originally set primarily in Busan, South Korea, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the setting was changed to Hiroshima

- As a point of distinction, Kafuku's car is left-hand drive, as opposed to Japan's standard right-hand drive