“Drive My Car” (2021) was a sudden discovery for me. I was searching for a good film. Nothing was making any impression on me. When I saw this movie's trailer it looked good. So, I decided to see it. This picture, though long, is pure drama, detailed character study, breathtaking cinematography, the adaptation of Haruki Murakami. Excellent screenplay. I have no comments on the acting as it was one of a kind immersive and heartfelt experience. This movie deservingly won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and BAFTA Award for Best Film.
A stage director’s wife commits suicide. The director feels that his wife died from his neglect. His work & his state of mind finds him on the road driving his pristine early 90’s red Saab 900. He finds himself at the crossroads. He tries to get away by taking on an out of town (Hiroshima) assignment – mounting a Chekov play, Uncle Vanya. At Hiroshima, his driving duties relegated to a quiet, taciturn woman.
Casting & rehearsals for the play get under way. Everything seems to be smooth. The offbeat casting of a deaf woman & a South Korean actress doesn’t faze him. At this juncture, the lead actor is arrested by the police as he was involved in a fight which sent the victim to the hospital where he subsequently lost his life. This puts the play in jeopardy.
Hence the director decided to play the role, because he’s done it before & knows the role inside out. In this process he also got to know his driver, who’s in similar emotional straits as he. They venture to her hometown.
At times I wonder why is this film three hours long? I understand some directors like to let their stories marinate a bit, other than being the longest & most expensive commercial car Saab never made, there’s nothing in this move that would warrant 3 hours length. I request you to remember that length does NOT equate importance.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
