DRIVE MY CAR (ドライブ・マイ・カー): How Hamaguchi Dramatizes Grief | Jams & Tea On Film
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In our latest episode of a new infrequent series of conversations on the latest movies, Tyler and Zach sit down to discuss the brilliant new film from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, DRIVE MY CAR. Join us as we dive deep into the theatrical character drama and rich portrait of loss and understanding that Hamaguchi brings to life from source material by the great Haruki Murakami. We also take time to discuss Hamaguchi’s other 2021 film, the anthology of female-led romantic dramas, WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY.
Let us know what you think! We want to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
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0:00 Drive My Car
41:34 Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
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As someone who has read the short story and seen the film, I feel I can fill you two in on the what is "Murakami" and what is "Hamaguchi" in a sense. The best way to describe the structure of the film is that it's told in the opposite way from the short story, where in the story we start with Kafuku getting a driver, and then flash back to his meetings with Takatsuki.
The core of the short story is Misaki driving Kafuku around the city, and the adaptation of Uncle Vanya is more window dressing than a central plot point. It is quite literally something only mentioned in fleeting conversation between Kafuku and Misaki. There's also the way Kafuku's wife dies being changed from slow burning cancer to a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. Additionally, Kafuku's wife is never depicted as being alive during a single scene in the short story, we only experience her through the eyes of other characters describing what she was like. Ironically what you cite as one of the most Murakami things in the film Zach, (that being the spinning of post-coital stories) is an entirely Hamaguchi invention, at least to my knowledge. If nothing else, that detail is not at all a part of the original short story. Another significant difference in between the characters is their ages, interestingly enough. Takatsuki is portrayed more as being maybe early 40s in the short, but early 30s in the movie. So, we've really got an adaptation that is adding a ton, by necessity to the short 40 page story to make it 3 hours.
Point being, there is a whole laundry list of changes to the short to create a film that is more distinctly Hamaguchi and his co--writer Oe's than it is Murakami's vision. The core story of the short story is there, but in a disjointed jumbled way to tell a story that as I say, is more Hamaguchi than Murakami. As for myself on the film, I am kind of meh on it. I love a ton of the technical detail of the presentation, but didn't find myself terribly invested in a lot of what was happening past the opening credits about 30 minutes in. There were a couple moments I found rather cheesy that didn't quite sit right with me, like the method by which Kafuku acquired a driving assistant, something I found incredibly contrived in the film. I still enjoyed your analysis of what you liked about the film, even if it didn't really connect with me in the same way.
I am amazed how much the director did with Murakami's short story.
Thank you for the depth of your insights about the details of this movie. I appreciated things that I didn't get watching the film and listening to other reviews. However, I think an important detail is overlooked -- the setting of the theater festival in Hiroshima. Staging a multilingual international version of the Russian play, Uncle Vanya, there provides an important social, historical and psychological context. I recently heard that Russians are a resilient people. The closing line of the play that is presented in the movie could be encouragement to the Japanese and other societies to recover from collective trauma. By presenting this encouragement in a play about personal grief and guilt, it subverts the defensive, acrimonious cultural and political debates about societal issues. That setting also adds another perspective on the acceptance of the guilt of the protagonist and his driver about the death of people in their families, because it might be encouraging acceptance (without approval) of guilt about participation in WWII. This context provides an additional perspective on the use of which languages are used in the film and that the final scene takes place in Korea. Thanks again for your review.
Thank you very much for this comment. Zach and I definitely wish we had thought to consider this additional detail, though I think you’ve explored and unpacked it beautifully here. Thanks for watching :)
Thanks for the insightful review and discussion of this truly remarkable movie! I saw it twice within the same week, and your comments made me want to watch it again! You might wish to check out Hamaguchi’s Happy Hour, which is a long (more than 5 hours!) but engaging and illuminating character study of four female friends.
Thanks for watching, and for your comment! Zach and I definitely plan to check out Happy Hour and more from Hamaguchi asap!
Great discussion! I went to see the movie last weekend and it has been on my mind ever since.
Thank you for tuning in!
Such a great, beautiful discussion.
Very insightful. Just a quick fix: The signer is not deaf. I guess she can't speak, though, for whatever reason. But again, GREAT insights!!
Zach here, I have made this mistake a couple times. Lee Yoo-na is mute, but not deaf. Thanks for the correction :)
@@thefirstwatchpodcast5360 Just a small thing. And again, great insight! I almost enjoy watching different people's analysis of this film as much as the film itself!
@@thedancingveganatheist6310 lovely to hear. ryley and i had a great time making it and look forward to more film convos in the future!
Hey I had some confusion about a certain scene in the movie. When they are visiting Misakis old family home, Mikasi says something along the lines of “even though she constantly sought other men, than doesnt mean she didnt love you with all her heart” just thought the verbiage of “she was constantly cheating” was strange. And also, I’m confused at how they justified the cheating. Was it because she was doing it for her screenplay ideas? Thanks for any insight
Zach here, I would say that personally I don't see the line as a "justification" of the cheating, so much as a demystification of it. The act badly hurts Kafuku, and it also ways heavily on Takatsuki's (and possibly, Oto's, given her message to Kafuku) conscience(s). Overall, I think what the film is saying is that each character views the infidelity with this bit of mystery, an unsolvable question of why Oto did it, or why she needed to. To me, what Watari's words mean is just to suggest that Oto can be unfaithful but still love and be devoted to Kafuk, that there isn't any unsolvable mystery and that it doesn't reflect on Kafuku as a husband or lover. Very thought provoking though, and a challenging perspective on cheating.
Nice review! I watched the movie today and felt like I missed some details, it was really interesting to hear your perspective :)
I'd commit crimes to see this in theaters...
extraordinary experience. had no idea what was coming around the corner at any point. fully immersed in it.
as would i. had to resort to illicit means...
I'm not sure which i like more the movie or the review. The best review on the internet. I took me a few days to process the movie and it quickly jumped into my all time top 5. I really love this movie
Thank you so much for this lovely comment, it has made our day ❤️
Sorry, the last scene is not in Japan and the car is not the same, it is the same type of car But the plate number is in Korean and she speaks Korean at the grocery store. It confused me a bit how she moved to Korea and why,? Also, the dashboard of the car is way different.
I will have to take a closer look at this on rewatch, didn't notice those details!
Spoiler alert The end scene you discuss the SAABs numberplate and cars in the carpark (Hyundais) show she is not in Japan anymore but Korea. Is she driving him in Korea for a showing of the play? Or has he given her the car? (its extremely expensive to import and reregister a car in another country so I don't think she could afford it). Maybe she is working for the Gong Yoon-soo still but in Korea?