![]() ![]() The day we can assume they are finally going to talk about it, Yusuke drives around in his car, stalling his return home and listening to the recording of Oto reading Uncle Vanya. Until the end, Yusuke never found it within himself to confront Oto about her unfaithfulness. No longer is he “waiting for Godot” as “Godot” is now dead and there’s nobody to wait for. However, the day it seemed his wife would confront him with this revelation, she dies, thus forcefully breaking the cycle and depriving Yusuke of closure. Although Oto also acts as if nothing changed, she is the one who takes the first step to drop the act and come clean. He represses his emotions, his hurt and sorrow, for the sake of upholding the status quo of their marriage - until he walks in on Oto having sex with a younger actor named Koshi Takatsuki ( Masaki Okada). RELATED: 7 Oscar-Nominated Japanese Films to Watch After 'Drive My Car'įrom early on in the film, Yusuke is playing a role that has nothing to do with his theatre productions: he acts as the husband unsuspecting of his wife’s infidelity. Hamaguchi understands that all human beings are “players” in their own lives as they change and adapt according to the circumstances and the people they interact with. Acting can take place every single day of our lives and it is so intrinsic to our being that we may have a hard time distinguishing it ourselves. Note however that we mustn’t understand “acting” as being altogether synonymous with “lying.” While the latter can be hollow and superficial, there’s still truth in the former, even if one is not saying words that accurately represent reality. Although one’s a working actor and the other has retired from the profession, in both their cases their acting extends to their private lives. ![]() The protagonist, Yusuke Kafuku ( Hidetoshi Nishikima), and his wife Oto ( Reika Kirishima) are our first example of this. Action is not limited to outward activity, it can also exist within, unnoticeable to those who are not paying attention.ĭrive My Car is concerned with how people relate to one another on and off-stage, making it perfectly clear that acting does not only take place under the spotlight and in front of an audience. ![]() It comprehends that what one person chooses to reveal is as significant as what they choose to hide. Drive My Car is a film that understands the theatricality of social life with its texts as well as with its silences, loading both what is said and unsaid with as much meaning. There’s no more poignant exploration of this relation in the director’s work than his nearly three-hour-long screen adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story. Like Shakespeare centuries before him, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi demonstrates through his work the connection between life on and off the stage, going beyond what meets the eye and tapping into the subtle but effective power of subtext. They are like two mirrors facing one another, no longer allowing for the distinction of which image is more real. Life often emulates the dynamics of theatre, and vice-versa. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” This may very well be the most recognizable quote from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. ![]()
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