{"id":10019,"date":"2022-02-10T09:09:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T09:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iof.lkc.mybluehost.me\/?p=10019"},"modified":"2022-08-06T18:58:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T17:58:00","slug":"drive-my-car-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weareactors.com\/drive-my-car-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Drive My Car Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Does life imitate art or art imitate life? This question sits at the very center of Ryusuke Hamaguchi<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u2019s Drive My Car<\/em> – a film ultimately about human contradictions, shared grief and the soul-mending power of storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Drive My Car<\/em> follows theater artist Kafuku (a beautifully layered Hidetoshi Nishijima<\/span><\/strong><\/a>) in his process of mounting a production of Uncle Vanya. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Masaki Okada<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (K\u014dji Takatsuki)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Having played Vanya in a previous production, his familiarity is vital to his vision. Yet, there remains a few peculiar aspects to his process. In the wider business, Kafuku is known for directing multilingual works, relying on actor\u2019s instincts and rhythm rather than linguistic understanding of one another. In a more confounding choice, he casts controversial young actor Takatsuki (a chilling Masaki Okada<\/span><\/strong><\/a>) who holds complex ties to his personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On every morning and night-time drive, Kafuku listens to a tape of his wife reciting his Vanya cue lines at a steady tempo. Contracted by the theater company to receive a driver for his aging red Saab 900, he reluctantly takes on Watari (a grounded T\u014dko Miura), an extremely skilled chauffeur. Over their long, Vanya-full drives, the two begin to form a profound connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Drive
L to R: <\/a>Hidetoshi Nishijima<\/span><\/strong><\/a> (Y\u016bsuke Kafuku) and T\u014dko Miura (Misaki Watari)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hidetoshi Shinomiya\u2019s distant framings mixed with Eiko Ishibashi<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u2019s tranquil musical refrains bring a feeling of meditation to the many driving sequences. They should create a ten hour loop and upload it to youtube for the greater good. For now, here’s my favorite piece from the soundtrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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