Review Film Drive My Car by Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi

The film Drive My Car is in the spotlight after setting a record as the first Japanese film to be nominated for the 2022 Best Picture Oscar. This work was directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. He also collaborated with Takamasa Oe to work on the script writing. Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) relies on his wife to practice the lines of his theatrical performances. He pretends to have a dialogue with his co-stars by recording the voice of his wife, Oto Kafuku (Reika Kirishima), every time he drives his favorite red Saab 900 Turbo.

He kind of had an "odd" ritual with his wife. Every time he has sex with Oto, his wife can orgasm in narrative form to be poured into a television drama script. Oto also relies on her husband to retell her imagination because she often forgets the next day. This "odd" routine was formed after the two lost their only daughter two decades ago. Yusuke must face death again. One day Oto dies suddenly and Yusuke experiences a deep sorrow that he cannot express properly. In fact, Yusuke still keeps a secret meeting that he caught his wife having sex with a mysterious man in their apartment.

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Ryusuke Hamaguchi as the writer and director wants to illustrate that the loss of someone who is loved so much doesn't need to be overexpressed. In this case, Yusuke's character is described as still doing the same routine. The difference this time is that the audience is made to feel that he is still mourning the death of his wife by playing a cassette tape in his car. Then, Yusuke decides to step up with his life and travels to Hiroshima to take a theater directing job.

After this first round, the opening title film Drive My Car appears. It took 40 minutes to reach that point, an unusual duration. This duration makes the audience aware that this is only the beginning of a journey of grief and acceptance from the 3-hour film."Of course I believe that the truth, no matter what it is, is not scary. The scariest thing is not knowing it," Oto's voice filled the car. The new journey with the red 900 Turbo Moment begins. By the theater company, Yusuke is given the facility of a driver to take him wherever he wants while in Hiroshima. The driver is Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a 23-year-old woman with a quiet and mysterious character.

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The vehicle that had been carrying Yusuke for 15 years had been taken over by a stranger who was neither him nor his wife. His character's comfort bubble has been breached. The dialogue is minimal, Hidetoshi Nishijima's expression doesn't explode either. However, Nishijima's good acting is able to make the audience understand that there is anxiety in Yusuke's character. This red Saab 900 Turbo is a silent witness to everything that is happening in Yusuke's life. All the subtleties experienced by each character are revealed in the sedan. One of them was when Yusuke chatted with Koji Takatsuki (Masaki Okada) about the affair between the young actor and Oto. Finally Yusuke was able to lift the burden of the secret he had kept all this time and throw it to the man who was cheating on him.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi made the conversation between these two adults not a topic that should be a fiery confrontation. The two men share feelings and stories about a woman they both love. Then, regarding Yusuke's relationship with his new driver, it gradually softens. Misaki had seen and heard everything about her master.

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"He accelerates and decelerates [the pace of the car] so smoothly, I barely feel gravity. Sometimes I forget I'm in the car," Yusuke said at a dinner party. "I've been driven by many people but it's never been this fun. I'm glad he was assigned as a driver. That's how I feel right now," said Yusuke about Misaki's driving ability. The dialogue is the turning point of their initially cold relationship. Misaki earns the trust of her employer after proving her abilities. And, now, he didn't hesitate to tell me more about himself.

Misaki has a trauma in the past that makes her able to drive that well. Then came the pinnacle of Drive My Car cinematography. Namely, when Misaki and Yusuke were both enjoying their respective cigarettes in the red car. Through this beautiful scene, the audience can feel that the two are comfortable and trust each other. Yusuke and Misaki try to accept what they regret in the past. However, they both realized they couldn't bring back what had already happened. Drive My Car is an adaptation of the stories