Drive My Car (film)

Yūsuke Kafuku is a theater actor married to Oto, a film screenwriter. They bond over their shared storytelling interests, with Oto commonly crafting stories during sex. They recently lost a four-year-old daughter to pneumonia, putting a strain on their relationship; Kafuku also witnesses Oto having an affair with Kōji Takatsuki, a popular young actor working with her on a film, but he does not confront her about it. Kafuku comes home late one night to find Oto collapsed on the floor, dead from a brain hemorrhage. Kafuku sees Takatsuki at her funeral, but does not speak with him.

Two years later, Kafuku accepts a two-month residency with a theater program in Hiroshima, where he will direct an experimental, multi-lingual adaptation of Chekhov's play Uncle Vanya. He requests housing an hour away from the theater so that he can rehearse during his commute, using a cassette tape Oto recorded for him before her death. However, the theater company requires that he is accompanied by a driver, Misaki Watari; he objects at first, but relents after a test drive which reveals she is a skilled driver. Kafuku auditions many actors for the play in a variety of languages, although nobody auditions for the lead role of Vanya, assuming Kafuku will play the part himself. Kafuku casts Takatsuki in the lead role despite his young age, surprising many.

The early rehearsals are awkward as none of the cast can understand one another, and when asked for specific direction on the scenes, Kafuku tells his actors to stick to the text for answers. Takatsuki frequently asks Kafuku to meet with him after-hours to talk, curious why Kafuku cast him in the role, but Kafuku is hesitant to speak in-depth with him. Takatsuki's erratic behavior concerns him, as Kafuku witnesses the young man assaulting a bar-goer for taking pictures of him and fooling around with another young actress in the cast. Watari also asks about Oto during their drives, having become curious by her voice on the cassette tapes, but Kafuku is reluctant to speak much about her. Watari reveals that her family died in a tragic landslide near Sapporo in northern Japan five years prior.

During a late-night drive with Takatsuki, Kafuku reveals that he knew of his wife's affairs but did not say anything because he was afraid of losing her. Takatsuki expresses admiration for her writing, and shares a story she told him that Kafuku had never heard the ending to before. After Takatsuki leaves, Watari suggests that his story may not have been true but that it was still the truth to him. Some time later, police arrive at rehearsal and arrest Takatsuki for beating a man who was taking pictures of him, resulting in the man's death. The theater programmers ask Kafuku if the show will be canceled, or if he will step into the role of Vanya that he knows so well; he requests a few days to think about it.

Kafuku asks Watari if she will take him to the place where her family died. Their trip takes several days, and they arrive at the collapsed ruins of her childhood home. Watari reveals that her mother was emotionally and physically abusive, and that she had the opportunity to save her mother from the wreckage but chose not to, which she regrets. Kafuku also expresses regret for not returning home earlier, when he might have discovered Oto in time to save her life. They comfort each other, with Kafuku saying they have to go on living. They then return to Hiroshima, where Kafuku assumes the role of Vanya and gives an impassioned performance before a live audience.

Some time later, Watari shops for groceries at a super market. She returns to the parking lot and gets into Kafuku's car, where a dog waits for her in the back seat, then she drives off.

• Hidetoshi Nishijima as Yūsuke Kafuku
• Tōko Miura as Misaki Watari
• Masaki Okada as Kōji Takatsuki
• Reika Kirishima as Kafuku's Wife, Oto
• Park Yoo-rim
• Jin Daeyeon
• Sonia Yuan

The film was originally set in Busan, South Korea, but was changed to Hiroshima, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Drive My Car had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or.[8][9]

• List of submissions to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

• Drive My Car at IMDb
• Drive My Car on Rotten Tomatoes