Drive My Car
Drive My Car • 2h 59m
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi • 2021 • Japan
Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima
Only Ryusuke Hamaguchi, with his extraordinary sensitivity to the mysterious resonances of human interactions, could sweep up international awards (including the Oscar for Best International Feature) and galvanize audiences everywhere with a pensive three-hour movie—presented in nine languages and adapted from Haruki Murakami stories—about an experimental staging of an Anton Chekhov play. With DRIVE MY CAR, the Japanese director has confirmed his place among contemporary cinema’s most vital voices. Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) arrives in Hiroshima to direct a production of Uncle Vanya for a theater festival and, through relationships with an actor (Masaki Okada) with whom he shares a tangled history and a chauffeur (Toko Miura) with whom he develops a surprising rapport, finds himself facing up to his emotional scars. This quietly mesmerizing tale of love, art, grief, and healing is ultimately a cathartic exploration of what it means to go on living when there seems to be no road ahead.
Up Next in Drive My Car
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi on DRIVE MY CAR
This interview with director Ryusuke Hamaguchi was recorded in New York in March 2022. In it, he discusses filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s influence on his own work, his distinct approach to casting and working with actors, and the impact that making DRIVE MY CAR has had on him.
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DRIVE MY CAR Behind the Scenes
This 2022 featurette contains footage shot by producer Terushisa Yamamoto during the filming process of DRIVE MY CAR. Spanning locations in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Hokkaido and featuring interviews with cast members and rare behind-the-scenes footage, it captures the creative collective journey of ...
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DRIVE MY CAR Cannes Press Conference
This footage from the international premiere of DRIVE MY CAR at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival features interviews with director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, actors Toko Miura and Reika Kirishima, and producer Yuji Sadai.
