Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Writer/s: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Haruki Murakami
Starring: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon, and more.

The Intro:
Ah, the beautiful world of international film. It’s a world that has gone largely unexplored to my eyes, but man, can I not wait to dive all in on it. There are so many titles I have heard of that I just need to watch. However, while I am as all in on all current films as I can be, I will be damned to miss any of them that cause waves today, and that is surely the case with the Oscar Best Picture nominee “Drive My Car.”

IMDb Summary:
“A renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with his wife’s unexpected passing when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.”

The Oberrating:
This one was a madddd tricky one as I sat through the watch. The introduction portion of “Drive My Car,” which seemed to be the short film segment, was incredibly interesting. It held my attention throughout and up until the first set of credits started rolling. The meat of the film, which was the middle segment of the three hour long film, had me zoning in and out. Kind of like when you idly read a book and track all the words you read but do not really take it in. So while I was still fully watching, it did begin to lose me a bit. Then came the last leg. The last leg of “Drive My Car” was absolutely engaging. The dialogue was like poetry. The emotion resonated all the way through my being. And the finale brought a few tears to my eyes. It really was a treat to finish this movie once the final credits started to roll.

I also had an interesting reception to the performances, which ultimately ended in a great amount of appreciation for them. For most of the film I was indifferent or even more so on the negative side of things due to a lack of emotion from a lot of the characters though primarily our lead Yûsuke. However, then we reached the final leg of the film and quite literally my rating jumped from 3/5 to… See below 😉. The final leg hits so hard with a captivating and delicate finale. Honestly, Yûsuke finally fleshes out completely. His character went from a slow roll to an avalanche. Yûsuke held in so much emotion to finally break and project his true feelings. It really resonated with me.

It’ll be okay.

We’ll be okay.

The Wrap-Up:
This will probably not be for a majority of my readers, but for those who like to delve into international film, this will be perfect for you. A delicate, slow unravelling drama that I could describe as nothing more than beautiful poetry. Hamaguchi has a vision and it truly pays off with “Drive My Car.” If this intrigues you at the slightest, make the jump.

Rating: 4.5/5

References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14039582/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14039582/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm

Edited by Erica McNatt




No copyright infringement is intended.