Drive My Car

Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe wrote the script out of Murakami’s story of that name and also Scheherazade and Kino from the same book. The action was first set in Busan, moved to Hiroshima because of the pandemic. In the story the car is a yellow Saab 900 convertible; in the film a red Saab 900 Turbo, picked for the Hiroshima landscape. Hamaguchi wanted the Beatles song the film is named after, found the permission too hard, and turned to a Beethoven string quartet Murakami’s story already mentions. The driver is not a punishment: for insurance reasons the festival requires its visiting director be driven in his own car. The Uncle Vanya on stage is multilingual, and the closing speech goes to an actress working in Korean Sign Language, so the ending arrives in hands, not voice. The opening credits appear about 40 minutes in. Cannes gave it three prizes: Best Screenplay, FIPRESCI and the Ecumenical Jury. Of four Oscar nominations it won one, International Feature; the others were Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. It was the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture. A good fit if you treat the 40 minutes before the credits as setup, not overhang, and accept grief at rehearsal pace. Not for anyone who needs the ending spoken; Sonya’s last lines are signed.