She used to be a lamprey in a previous life
Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 51 Movies of 2021
#4 : Drive My Car
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi reaches a new grandeur with this engrossing adaptation of a Haruki Murakami short story about a theatre director grappling with Chekhov and his wife’s infidelity.
I know this got good write-ups, but don't really have any idea what it's about - I'm assuming it involves driving and a car (but it wouldn't massively surprise me if it doesn't).
Well - the good news is that it does. And it plays an important part - but to be honest a lot of things play an important part in this film. The basic premise is that a guy is directing a performance of Uncle Vanya and the film covers the interaction of the various people involved in the performance - and not only the actors because, unsurprisingly the driver of the car has an important role. The interactions are multi-layered, reflecting everyone's roles both in the play, work and society and they also evolve as people get to know each other - it all becomes quite complex. And really, I think that's all I should tell you because some of the things that happen are both unexpected and important.
Unsurprisingly, it's quite a theatrical film - I imagine that if you know Uncle Vanya (which I very much don't) then it has whole new levels of meaning. It also manages to feel very literary - which I guess you'd expect from a Huraki Murakami story. I particularly enjoyed the fact that stuff actually happens in it and there is character development as a result - it wouldn't be hard to imagine it all getting very caught up in itself and going absolutely nowhere, but it swerves that pitfall well. It also manages to pack in two very lovely endings - one of which features a silent monologue (which is a thing of beauty) and the other features the car in a way that wasn't entirely clear to me, but the internet explained nicely to me.
It's deliberate in its pacing, often VERY deliberate - it’s really not afraid of silences or lingering shots. I can see that some people would find it slow but I actually found it quite intriguing and enjoyed it taking its time to unveil itself to me. And take its time it most definitely does, with the film lasting nearly three hours - but it didn't feel like it at all, which surprised me. It also manages to imbue the most unusual of actions with meaning - at one point a man simply gets in the front seat of a car and you go "ohhh!".
It's well acted - with the cast often required to show when they're "acting" through their acting. Hidetoshi Nidehime is Yusuke Kafuku, the director and he carries the film well - The Guardian's use of the word "grappling" is very appropriate. And one of the things he's grappling with is his relationship with his wife, Oto Kafuku played by Reiku Kiriskima, who is a very interesting character. Whereas, Toko Miura as Misaki Watari, the driver is much more guarded - there's stuff going on in there, but you're not sure what it is. Everyone else is good as well, but I'm going to call out Park Yoo-Rim who plays a mute character so acts entirely in sign language - apparently she's not deaf or mute and didn't know sign language, but the internet tells me she does a good job with it.
It's also very well shot, making excellent use of both indoors and outdoors, featuring urban and rural landscapes - and yes, roads feature quite heavily. It also has some lovely arty shots in it - I do like a well composed shot that doesn't really mean or add anything (as long as there aren't too many of them!). One bizarre thing to note - the opening credits appear 41 minutes into the film.
I appreciate a three hour long subtitled literary/theatrical film with a very Asian take on matters isn't going to be to everyone's taste - and I can't say I was expecting it to be to mine. But, I really enjoyed this - it packs a lot in there, moves the plot and characters along, often going in a direction other than the one you're expecting it to, expects you to think about things and it looks absolutely gorgeous in the process. So if you're a fan of "proper grown up" films then I think you can do far worse than check this out.
At the time of writing, it's available to rent at all the usual locations.
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