“Drive My Car” An intellectual exploration of “words” that transcends the “walls” of dialogue

"Drive My Car" synopsis

Iefuku, a stage actor and director, was living a contented life with his beloved wife Oto. However, Oto suddenly disappears from this world, leaving behind a secret. Two years later, Iefuku heads to a theater festival in Hiroshima in his car and meets Misaki, a quiet personal driver with a past. Furthermore, they find Takatsuki, an actor who was once introduced by Oto, at an audition...Kafuku has been tormented by a sense of loss and a "secret that was never revealed." As Kafuku spends time with Misaki and reveals their past, he begins to realize something that he had ignored up until then.

Index

• Director Hamaguchi won awards at all three major film festivals in the world.
• A story about trying to overcome the “wall” of communication
• Adding a wide variety of “walls” for interaction with others to people
• A world where stories are used as a medium for interacting with others
• A theatrical methodology that deconstructs and reconstructs “words”
• Thorough exploration of words brings about “Kotodama”

Director Hamaguchi won awards at all three major film festivals in the world.

Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is a master craftsman who is attracting attention both domestically and internationally. ``Drive My Car'' won four awards at the 74th Cannes Film Festival in 2021: Best Screenplay, International Federation of Film Critics Award, Ecumenical Jury Award, and AFCAE Award. (As of February 2022, this film has also been nominated in four categories at the 94th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film.)

He won the Silver Bear Award (Jury Grand Prix) at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival in 2021 for ``Coincidence and Imagination'' (scheduled to be released in 2021), and co-wrote the screenplay for ``The Spy's Wife '' directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. (20) won the Silver Lion Award (Best Director Award) at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in 2020. Together, this film has won awards at all three major film festivals in the world.

Director Hamaguchi has been highly acclaimed overseas since the beginning, with ``PASSION'' (2008), which was originally his graduation project at Tokyo University of the Arts' Graduate School of Film and New Media, being shown at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. He has steadily built up a track record with `` Happy Hour '' (15) and his commercial film debut, `` Sleep or Wake '' (18), and has established his current position.

“Drive My Car” trailer

``Drive My Car'' is a bold adaptation of Haruki Murakami's short story collection `` Men Without Women, '' and features talented actors who are active in major roles such as Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, and Masaki Okada. Even from director Hamaguchi's early work, the scale has gradually expanded, and this work was released nationwide, including at TOHO Cinemas. This talented artist, who has always aimed to create academic works, has finally become known throughout Japan, both in name and in reality.

The memorable work ``Drive My Car'' is a human drama depicting the wanderings of a husband's mind after losing his wife. Iefuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a stage actor/director who lost his wife Oto (Reika Kirishima) to illness. He will be staying in Hiroshima to create a new play to be performed at a theater festival. Kafuku goes to the location and meets Misaki (Toko Miura), a driver with a past. Then, Takatsuki (Masaki Okada), a young actor who knows a lot about sound, participates in an audition for a play. Their respective destinies begin to slowly intertwine.

Like his previous works, this is a quiet, sincere, and intelligent story. It's a masterpiece that leaves you with a deep aftertaste, as if it were the embodiment of director Hamaguchi himself (in other words, it also means that he has consistently produced works without wavering). At the same time, there is also a sense of "stiffness" that no matter how many words you try, you can't get to the essence. In this article, I would like to introduce some of its charms.

A story about trying to overcome the “wall” of communication