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Yusuki’s (Hidetoshi Nishijima) only certainty comes from his car, an aging red Saab. The car becomes something of a totem for his autonomy, but as life’s trials strike him down, Yusuki dives into a directing job in a Hiroshima theater. It’s not the picturesque escape he envisioned—he’s faced with a lead actor (Masaki Okada) whose self-destructive nature ripped apart Yusuki’s personal life years before. Even more upsetting is his gradual vision loss, resulting in the young Misaki (Tôko Miura) taking the helm of his Saab as his personal driver, altering Yusuki’s sense of control. In short, this is one sad dude.
Based on the short story of the same name by Wind Up Bird Chronicles author Haruki Murakami, Drive My Car is a difficult piece to grasp in one sitting. It’s a slow ride at nearly three hours, exceedingly quiet and overwhelmingly lonesome. Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi turns the concept of an urban night drive into something of a holy hour, the time when confessions burst out, revelations are exposed and the gradual understanding of living occurs in a place that lingers between mysticism and reality.
What results is a curious take on grief. Not the fear of death, really, but a fear of self and how we react to the sudden evils of which we’re capable. Drive My Car, then, is a film of slow surprises, dripping with minute reveals scene-by-scene. Juicy drama unfolds, mind you, but also a remarkable humanism we rarely see in Western cinema these days. One could imagine a less reserved filmmaker needing to push platitudes and proverbs and otherwise underestimating their audience. Hamaguchi instead crafts a world that reflects a universal human experience and the secret fear most dread: loss of control.
By understanding entirely where it’s aiming from the get-go, Drive My Car proves its plaudits and accolades well earned. Imagine a cinematic landscape where filmmakers felt brave enough to prove they feel the darkness, too, even if it manifests less mythologically than it does in the more bombastic movie fare of today. In a time when we’re force-fed tales of heroic inter-galactic victories over catch-all, -one-dimensional enemies, it can be a surprise when effective storytelling doesn’t need to lean on something loud and fantastical. You can be the darkness in your own story. You can win small victories. Sometimes, acceptance works just as well.
9
+One of Japan’s finest films in years
-It’s a lot to take in
Drive My Car
Directed by Hamaguchi
With Nishijima, Mirua and Okada
CCA, NR, 179 min.
