Review of: Drive My Car

And then, at last, we shall rest.

Do you enjoy car rides, or do you love taking long trips where the destination is unknown?

If so, this is what Drive My Car is all about, a three-hour movie by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi. But you will hardly feel the time passing by, instead, you’ll feel like taking the ride with the characters. And when it ends, you wish you never have to step out of the car.

It was only by chance that I got to know about the movie, but I'm glad I did. For me, Drive My Car isn't an art movie. The film's message is universal, and that is — that life goes on.

Let’s get into it

Drive My Car

In the opening scene, you will see a loving couple. Oto, the wife, speaks of a fictional story to Yusuke, her husband, while they are in bed. The wife writes screenplays while the husband is a theater actor/director.

Oto tells her story almost in a trance, and we find that she doesn't remember it the next day. Yusuke will then tell her what she was vividly talking about the night before.

The movie shows a loving couple, both supportive in their respective work. What’s more, Oto makes audiocassette recordings of the play her husband is working on, and Yusuke would listen to her voice as he drives his car, the red SAAB 900.

One day, Yusuke was supposed to travel to Vladivostok, but when his flight was delayed, he decided to go home instead of staying a night in a hotel near the airport, only to find out that his wife was having sex with one of her actors.

He silently left without saying a word.

Uncle Vanya

A play by Anton Chekhov is woven into the movie, one would think that the play is necessary to make viewers see a glimpse of the work Yusuke does as an actor and director.

But in the end, you will understand why it has to exactly be Uncle Vanya.

Yusuke and Oto love each other. The infidelity doesn't make Oto a bad person or a woman in need of the company of other men. Neither does it mean Yusuke is a bad husband. Marriage is complex and between partners anything can happen.

There are random events in our lives. For couples, it is a slippery road to thread, and a question to ask:

do we forgive and forget when infidelity happens, or should it be the end of a marriage?

Caution: Spoiler Alert

It is a question for which Yusuke will never find answers.

In fact, the day when he left Oto for work, she told him that they needed to talk, but Yusuke was all too consumed to think about what that meant.

When he finally goes back home, he finds Oto lying on the floor — dead.

Misaki

Life goes on.

Yusuke accepts a job in Hiroshima, a production of Uncle Vanya. Interestingly, theater actors from different countries will play the characters in the play, and their dialogue will be in their native language.

The niece of Uncle Vanya, Sonya, is played by a deaf actor, whose story is briefly shared in the movie.

Why? The question here is: Is it impossible to find love when you are different or with disabilities?

The obvious answer is that it isn't.

“Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.” ― Anton Chekhov

During the rehearsals, Yusuke's method is to immerse the actors with the play by reading their lines over and over again.

On a personal note, I was surprised to see my friend, Filipino actor Perry Dizon playing the role of Professor Serebryakov.

One thing that surprised Yusuke is that he was given a driver, a young woman named Misaki. At first, he didn't want to give up his car or didn't want anyone to drive his car, but later on, he had to accept that someone else would be behind the wheels.

Later on, Yusuke and Misaki will come to terms with their truth. The blurring of the lines between the play, the car, and the lives of Yusuke and Misaki brings the movie to an end that brings closure to their lives and to us who are watching the movie our own lives.

Final Words

Drive My Car is a masterpiece. I love the way director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi told the story of Yusuke and Misaki.

Hamaguchi’s touch — delicate, precise, restrained, gentle — overwhelms in increments. — The New York Time Review, Drive My Car.

His minimalist approach created such a slow narrative that you no longer need to understand the words or the sign language by the character who plays Sonya.

The last scene where Vanya and Sonya were talking, left me with a haunting message that I know I needed to hear. It can also be for anyone who lives through pain, who continues to questions life, or at times only see their suffering.

That life isn't meant to be easy. But, life has to be lived, and when we love, be prepared to lose that person in our lives.

People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.

— Anton Chekhov

It is only when we aren't happy that we constantly question life when most of the things we suffer from aren't exclusive to us. Everyone will experience pain in varying degrees. And once we have accepted the randomness of life, we will be more accepting because we know we are all connected in our pain.

I take comfort in hearing these lines at the end.

And then, at last, we shall rest.

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