Drive My Car

"Go on living."

2021 2h 59m JA

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 1,577

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director, still unable, after two years, to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, accepts to direct Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There he meets Misaki, an introverted young woman, appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions will be unveiled.

“Go on living.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Hidetoshi Nishijima
Yūsuke Kafuku
Toko Miura
Misaki Watari
Masaki Okada
Kōshi Takatsuki
Reika Kirishima
Oto Kafuku
Park Yu-rim
Lee Yoo-na
Jin Dae-yeon
Gong Yoon-su
Sonia Yuan
Janice Chang
Ahn Hwi-tae
Ryu Jong-ui

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Writers: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe, Haruki Murakami
Languages: Mandarin, English, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Tagalog
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 179 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $15M — a 11.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 8 languages: Mandarin, English, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Tagalog.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, shot by Hidetoshi Shinomiya. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Eiko Ishibashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Azusa Yamazaki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ryusuke Hamaguchi directs. Hidetoshi Shinomiya behind the camera. Eiko Ishibashi scores. Azusa Yamazaki cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Mandarin, English, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Tagalog.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 179 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $15M — a 11.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
4Released 5 years ago.
5Dialogue crosses 8 languages: Mandarin, English, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Tagalog.
6Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, shot by Hidetoshi Shinomiya. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Eiko Ishibashi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Azusa Yamazaki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Hidetoshi Nishijima and Toko Miura and Masaki Okada carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Go on living.".
11IMDB entry: tt14039582 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 20 themes, including "infidelity", "japan", "loss of loved one", "theater play".
13Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hidetoshi Shinomiya
Original score: Eiko Ishibashi
Editing: Azusa Yamazaki
Production design: Seo Hyeon-Seon
Costume design: Haruki Koketsu
Makeup / hair: Haruko Ichikawa
VFX supervisor: Kazuyori Kosaka
Sound: Miki Nomura
Runtime: 179 min · 2h 59m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,300,000
Box office: $15,356,046
Return: 1181% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Drive My Car (2021)

Awards

Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
FIPRESCI Grand Prix
Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Ryusuke Hamaguchi

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-03-27
★ 7/10
"Kafuku" (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is an accomplished stage actor who is directing a performance of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" with a group of young actors. He arrives at the venue in his red Saab motor car, determined that only he will drive himself. That's not the policy of the theatre, though, and soon he is placed in the capable hands of the somewhat laconic "Misaki" (Tôko Miura) and as the two start to get used to one and other, and he starts to get to know his new cast, the story unfolds revealing his past - his marriage to a famous playwright that ended in tragedy, and of his driver's own demons as the pair - entirely platonically - begin to fill the gaps left in each other's lives by times gone by. I did quite enjoy this, there are quite a few quirks to the story, not least from the handsome and curiously enigmatic 'Kôji" (Masaki Okada) whose storyline intertwines intriguingly with that of his mentor, and the film adopts a pace of it's own which you will appreciate right from the start (or not!). The dialogue is sparse though, perhaps a little too much so at times, and at almost three hours long it can feel like a bit of a slog at times. Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi has possibly over indulged himself a little with the style of the film, it dawdles, cinematographically speaking, and I suppose at the title suggests, there are quite a few scenes suggesting that more of a road trip movie might be in order. It is still a very easy film to watch, it requires concentration and somehow the fact that it's that Chekhov play seems apposite, too. I would see it on a big screen if you can - I suspect on television even the most focussed of us might find our attention wandering after a while.
badelf2022-06-29
★ 10/10
I find this film to be a near perfect drama. I understand that most Americans and perhaps younger viewers everywhere will not appreciate the pacing of the movie. There are two things about this movie that make it an actor's movie. First is the play within the play: the play within is Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and, like most Russian classics, it's about the human condition and the response to suffering. It's the play within the play because the film slowly reveals a mirror of Chekhov's play itself. Second, some playwrights have the gift of writing dialog that leaves the real storytelling to the unspoken dialogue - Shakespeare, Pinter, Stoppard - they all had this gift, and I nominate Hamaguchi to this list. It is amazing to watch this kind of production because it only survives with the richness and depth of the acting. It is the sole reason that theater companies can do these kind of plays and each version is completely unique. Even if you are not aware of this aspect of a play, Lee Yoo-na (Park Yu-rim) pointed out that her silence allowed her to see the deeper dialogue more clearly. As to the pacing? It's a brilliant reflection of the way Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) was directing Uncle Vanya.