Drive My Car * * * *

Today I decided to take a break from the French Film Festival where everyone is speaking French to have a look at a film where everyone is speaking Japanese  

Drive My Car seems to be a film that is much talked about but rarely seen. I guarantee you'll get a seat if you just turn up.  Perhaps its daunting three hour running time is the reason why not so many people are going to see it.

It's about a highly respected man of theatre,  Kafuku, who is assigned to direct a play, "Uncle Vanya" by Chekov.  The film is rather like the play itself,  I don't think there is one funny scene, and I don't think anyone ever laughs. The things they talk about are quite profound and self examining. You know. that kind of anguished conversation where everyone asks about the complexities of life:  "Why? Why? Why? Why?" 

Beep-Beep ,Beep-Beep. Yeah!

We first meet Kafuku years earlier and we learn about his wife, a screen writer, and her rather unusual way of finding creative inspiration via an orgasm (personally I tend to fall asleep after one of those). 

Moving forward to today, we learn that both his wife and his child, are no longer on the scene.  Now Kafuku leads a melancholic lonely life, but his work keeps him busy.  Plus he's still got a link to his past with his car - an immaculately kept old Saab 900 Turbo. He's had the same car for fifteen years.

(Just a thought I've had - probably unique to this blog -  but maybe the old Swedish car is a reference to Ingmar Bergman, a director this film seems to be somewhat inspired by?)

The play Kafuku has agreed to direct will be put on by The Hiroshima Theatre Company.   Whilst he is their guest in their city they insist that he be driven by a professional driver who they will appoint. They are taking no chances.  So Kafuku reluctantly agrees to sit in the back seat of his own car.  

It turns out the "professional driver" is a 23 year old girl, Misaki.  Actually, she is really good at her job:  She treats his car with great respect. She drives smoothly and safely.  . She is unassuming, uncomplaining and  unobtrusive. She will wait for hours for him whilst he is working or at a meeting.

Inevitably conversation develops between them, along with a mutual understanding of their internal pain as they confess to past errors and the human cost.  However, Drive My Car isn't a two hander, and it's not just about Kafuku's relationship with his Misaki.

If theatre is your thing you'll love this film.  We get to understand the way Kafuku wants to interpret "Uncle Vanya", with a cast chosen because many of them can't even speak the same language! We watch Kafuku work with the cast, especially the dramaturge and his wife, also a young man who has the lead role, Takatsuki. There is something discomforting about Takatsuki: he knew Kafuku's wife very well and remains obsessed with her.  Oh, and another thing about him - he has a propensity for violence, which, as always, can cause complications.

But greater violence can be found in the disturbed souls and memories of Kafuku and his driver Misaki.  After a major disruption in the production of the play, they take a break from "Uncle Vanya" and go on a long drive. Together they learn that some peace can be found in opening up and sharing their pain. Mercifully Drive My Car chooses to prioritise mutual respect and honesty over romance.

In some ways Drive My Car reminded me of many European films from the seventies.  It's slow moving and very talky.  I wouldn't knock it for that.  I actually like that kind of cinema. What it wants to do it does well. It's a memorable experience.