Pretentious and endless, Drive my Car opens in theaters!

Drive my Car won virtually all foreign film trophies from major awards. Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice. At the Oscars, it competes for four awards, foreign film (representing Japan), adapted screenplay, direction (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi) and best film. To me, it’s surprising that the film left off the list of others that, in my opinion, deserved this place in the final 10 much more. It is the case of Macbeth’s Tragedy e Tick tick boom, just to name two. That’s because the movie is boring and interminable with its 3 hours of duration. It premieres this Thursday (17) in theaters and on April 1 on MUBI streaming.

The film is adapted from a short story by Haruki Murakami. It follows the story of Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a successful theater actor and director. He is married to Oto (Reika Kirishima). She is also a screenwriter with many secrets, with whom she shares her life, and artistic collaboration. When tragedy strikes, Kafuku is left with many unanswered questions. Two years later, he accepts to direct a play at the theater in Hiroshima, boarding his precious Saab 900 car. There, he meets and has to deal with Misaki Watari (Toko Miura). She is his young driver, with whom he has to leave the car, even against his will. Despite their initial doubts, a very special relationship develops between the two.

What did I think of Drive my Car?

The film is tedious and seems to have no end. The beginning even seems interesting, with the couple’s story. But after 40 minutes, when Kafuku begins his journey in Hiroshima – and the credits finally roll – everything starts to get really boring. That’s because, the director obviously intends to tell something serious and important. About dealing with grief and moving on. But he fails to reach his goal. And he tries, all this time, to make the audience follow a dark and boring story.

The director includes in the middle of the story excerpts from the two plays that Kafuku is preparing for. First Esperando Godot and then Tio Vanya. There are dialogues and more dialogues that intend to draw a parallel with the situation of Kafuku. But they’re just moments that disperse, and get nowhere. Speaking of getting somewhere, there are endless scenes of the car going from one place to another. Not to mention the countless tunnels that we got to know from start to finish. And nothing happens…

Much of the critics, and Academy voters apparently, jumped on the bandwagon. However, in my opinion, it is pretentious, tiresome. The characters don’t attract, they don’t involve – with the exception of the young mute actress. In the end, where apparently everyone finds redemption from her, it was impossible for me not to feel tired. And an irrepressible desire that everything would end soon.