Year: 2021 Not Rated Genre: Narrative, Short Story-to-Movie Language: Japanese Runtime: 2:59:00 Director: 濱口竜介 (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) ☆★☆ Main Cast: 西島秀俊 (Hidetoshi Nishijima) ★, 三浦透子 (Toko Miura), 岡田将生 (Masaki Okada), 霧島れいか (Reika Kirishima)
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Watching Drive My Car is like reading Moby Dick. Well, I imagine it’s like reading Moby Dick. I’ve never read the Moby Dick. But I’ve heard it’s a tough read. To appreciate Drive My Car requires a lot of brain power. The bulk of the film is made up of dialogues in the form of story telling, one person telling a story to another person, and dialogues that are part a play within the film. My brain just could not function fast enough during my first watch to make all the connections between the stories told within the film and the film itself. When watching Drive My Car, you have to give the film 110% of your attention. You have to listen to every word, or read every word of the subtitles, if you don’t speak Japanese. And make literary interpretations. That’s how you watch and appreciate this film. It’s that Shakespeare shit.
The play within the film is Uncle Vanya, a known Russian play. A presentation of an established literary work within a presentation of a new literary work. Inception. The film masterfully intertwines the play with the film itself, using lines and scenes from Uncle Vanya to enhance its own events. I believe that's the brilliance professional film critics are raving about. Another brownie point for them literature and art lovers.
Rev. Dec. 28, 24.
I rewatched Drive My Car yesterday. Yesterday is January 19, 2025. After the rewatch, I thought about removing Drive My Car from this list. Drive My Car was one of the first films I added. I was less selective back then. Overall, Drive My Car is boring. It has moments. My favorite scene from the film is when Kōji recounts to Yūsuke the ending to Oto's story. That scene was mysterious. I was intrigued. I was expecting a big reveal. And then I heard the ending, and I was disappointed. I couldn't link that story back to the characters and the film itself. There are other interesting scenes sprinkled throughout the film.
The car really stands out in the film. At all times. That red really pops. Props to whoever picked that color. There were many conversations in the car. The film is called Drive My CAR, so that's fitting.
I'll keep the film on the list. While I don't love the film, the film is very well regarded by film critics all over the world. So, give it a watch and judge for yourself.
