Oscar-Nominated Drive My Car Director Doesn't Actually Know How To Drive
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the Oscar-nominated director of Best Picture contender Drive My Car, has revealed that despite the subject matter of his film, he doesn't know how to drive. The film, an adaptation of the Haruki Murakami short story of the same name, has been internationally and critically successful, and beyond its Oscar nominations has earned over 50 accolades. HBO Max subscribers have been able to stream Drive My Car since March 2.
Drive My Car follows the story of Yūsuke Kafuku, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima, an actor and theatre director. Shortly after discovering his wife Oto's infidelity, she dies of a brain hemorrhage, causing Yūsuke to have a breakdown. Two years later, in Hiroshima directing a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya, Yūsuke is obliged by the theater company he works for to be chauffeured in his 1987 Saab 900 by a young woman, Misaki Watari. Much of the film's three-hour runtime takes place during their conversations in Yūsuke's car as she drives him around and they grow closer, gradually learning more about one another.
Hamaguchi confirmed in an interview with EW that, though he is officially in possession of a driving license, he is functionally unable to drive, despite the fact that a large part of Drive My Car takes place behind the wheel. He explained that even after passing his test, he felt unsafe driving. That said, he still enjoys the experience of being a car in a passenger:
I actually am not able to drive. [Laughs] I do possess a license. But in Japan, we have a saying, we call it a "paper driver." Because we're just a driver on paper — we don't actually drive. I do enjoy riding in cars with other people and talking with them. To tell you the truth, I did get a license when I was in my twenties, and I drove about three times, but all three times I had some sort of minor accident. I didn't think I was really suited for driving.
Since its release, the film has received critical acclaim for its exploration of loss, infidelity, and loneliness. Drive My Car became the first Japanese film to ever be nominated for Best Picture, and Hamaguchi himself was nominated for Best Director. Though neither the film nor the director are seen as the most likely candidates to win their respective categories, it still remains possible that Drive My Car could replicate the success of Parasite, the first-ever Best Picture winner in a language other than English. Whether it wins or not, its nomination has been heralded as a sign of the Academy's increasing willingness to look outside of the Anglosphere.
Hamaguchi's confession about his inability to drive adds a hilarious irony to the success of Drive My Car. With the context of his professed enjoyment of riding in cars driven by other people, however, it makes a lot of sense. For most of Drive My Car, the protagonist Yūsuke isn't the one behind the wheel, but rather his chauffeur Misaki. The film's dramatic weight stems from the insight of their conversations during those peaceful moments on the road. It's probably for the best that Hamaguchi remains a passenger - if Drive My Car, acclaimed for its introspection, were based on his few actual experiences of driving, it would be a very different - and stressful - film.
Source: Entertainment Weekly