Drive My Car

Drive My Car (2021)

Co-Written and Directed by: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Based on a short story by Haruki Murakami from 'Men without Women' 
Won the Oscar for Best International Feature & Best Screenplay at Cannes

I had read this short story by Murakami long back, and it led a strong impact on me back then. It was exciting to see a 3-hour film made on a 30-minute short story. Of course, they further developed it and showed a few more events which the short story treats as a backstory. This story is entirely about feelings - how do people feel when put in complex situations. The film is very simple physically - like the events that happen are pretty simple to explain - but the feelings involved are extremely complex. A man is dealing with the death of his wife - but he's also dealing with more - he comes to know that she was cheating on him and he never finds the courage to confront her. He loves her so much that he fears losing her. He'd rather not confront her, live with it and let it be. And then she dies. Now, he's dealing with the guilt of not having asked her about it. Now he wants to know what was on her mind when she was doing it. He wants to speak to her one last time - but the chance is gone. It's extremely complex and in a way bittersweet, because even now he doesn't hate her. 

The book deals with how he talks to the guy who she was sleeping with - to know what he had that he didn't. To understand why she'd have slept with him. To find answers. But in the film, he doesn't do that. He seems to already know the answers and he's in a way patronizing with the guy. I remember in the book, he treats him almost as an equal and they even end up becoming friends. The film has terrific moments - the ending sequence where they go to Misaki's hometown - that entire sequence is so beautifully written, shot and performed. I like how they use the setting of theatre, rehearsing the lines in the car and all such techniques to elevate storytelling. I really enjoyed watching this film.