Drive My Car movie review -- Breakfast All Day

[@Seetha-Golden]

They also use German, Chinese and Indonesian in the theatre production. it took me by surprise when I first heard it. I love this movie, very slow, but in the end I was completely drowned! And I have such huge crush on Hidetoshi Nishijima now. Swoon...

[@emptylikebox]

It's Filipino, not Indonesian

[@Seetha-Golden]

​@@emptylikebox Nope the very first performance is in very proper Indonesian and Japanese with subtitles like in opera like Christy said. i remember it well. The second one in German, Japanese and Indonesian with Malay dialect. The very last performance has Chinese, Korean, Japanese and maybe Tagalog, this where Filipino needs to jump in, because that's the only language I didn't recognise.

[@csjcsj2906]

@@Seetha-Golden One of the languages during the last performance is indeed in Tagalog, from Filipino actor Perry Dizon.

[@thefilmseeker]

This is my movie of the year. Finally a perfect 10 in 2021! I didn't think it would come.

[@brajeshsingh2391]

its very good. I would wait till the end to give my score.

[@brajeshsingh2391]

and my score is 8.5. this is one of those movies that will be remembered for decades.

[@davidsheriff9274]

@@brajeshsingh2391 what is a 10?

[@richgranados11]

I love Murakami’s writing. He is so unique and simultaneously generic in his prose it comes out like genius in his best works (maybe the translator should take some credit but I read Murakami used to write in English and translate into Japanese). He has such a powerful control of embodying human emotions that is absent in many writers. I wonder if this film accurately reflects that skill. I really enjoyed Tony Takitani. If anyone has seen this film, is it more a product of the director or the original writer?

[@wildonionchase3934]

Original writer, but of course it takes talented filmmakers to translate a stories that focus so much on interior life and make that a compelling film. You should check out Burning if you haven’t, that’s also an excellent adaptation of a Murakami short story.

[@dancollins3999]

I would suggest it does what most great short story adaptations do and keeps the essence of the original story by murakami whilst widening its scope and ideas into a much richer and layered film

[@richgranados11]

@@dancollins3999 yes, a lot of his short stories are a little hit and miss. But there’s always a few that are better than anything I’ve ever read. And they’re funny too. A lot of the time, people get turned off by films that look too somber (would it kill them to smile in the poster? I guess it would it make it look like some cheap Netflix romcom) so it kind of makes them think it’s yet another muted indie drama that wins awards but no one actually watches. I would love to see an adaptation of cream (I know I know) or even vampire cabbie even though that one is so bare-bones it probably couldn’t go past a short film. Still no one has ever done a vampire film a la Murakami. I’d pay to see that

[@Lukulele1989]

I’m familiar with Murakami but not so much the director. The movie includes entire passages from his short story collection Men Without Women and feels like an excellent adaptation of not just the titular story but the collection as a whole. It did more than fulfill my wish for a Murakami adaptation. Of course it doesn’t have his trademark magical realism but neither did the particular short stories adapted. Murakami has integrated Chekov into a few of his books/stories I’ve read also.

[@richgranados11]

@@Lukulele1989 yea. I read the short story and the synopsis of the film after reading the short story. The short story is really about the mistrust that occurs during relationships and how that can negatively affect the lives of those hurt. That’s really much it. The film tries to incorporate more things from other short stories and a little bit of the directors vision. Idk, the runtime seems excessive as Murakami works best in a more focused runtime or at least broken up into segments.

[@npneilneil5]

You guys actually did a pretty good job describing Hamaguchi’s style. Namely, he is great at long, drawn-out dialogue scenes where the tension and the stakes slowly bubble up and next thing you know you’re deep into the emotional predicaments of the characters. I haven’t seen “Drive My Car” yet but “The Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” is similar in feel to what you’re describing.

[@leonzh1840]

06:15 She is not deaf, she is mute*

[@Alessandrot88]

I can understand people thinking it's too long and boring. I found it subtle but potent. A lot of movies shove their supposedly best qualities in your face. This movie trusts the viewer to notice and appreciate its merits on their own.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Well said. Thanks for watching!

[@kanpaopao]

Thank you for the insightful review. I liked the film as it has, as Christy said, a subtle, quiet, and slow rhythm in which many things are actually happening in an undercurrent so that we really have to pay attention to what's really going on in every scene.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks for watching, Kenji!

[@tel5690]

Sounds very interesting. Movies like this rarely get made. Curious in seeing this.

[@kokconsulting2]

Where is Matt

[@patcurrie9888]

He probably stayed with the TYT after What the Flick!?! was absorbed. I guess Christy and Alonso had had enough of TYT.

[@looney1023]

So I just finished watching this and I liked a lot of it, have a lot of respect for it, but I wasn't really moved by it and didn't really understand it. Perhaps a lot of it was lost on me without any knowledge of Uncle Vanya or not having the ability to recognize when certain languages were being spoken that weren't English or Japanese (or Korean Sign Language). I think the first two hours and especially the pre-opening credits sequence were beautiful. I just wish the ending came together in a more cohesive way? I'm still not really sure what the play or its use of languages actually represents in relation to the characters' experiences or what we find out about his wife and their relationship. It all just kind of "happens," and I don't necessarily mind that, but I thought it would mean more? I know I'm missing a lot. I really liked it but not as much as the rest of the world seems to :/

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's very subtle! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@vodkatonyq]

The woman is not deaf, but mute.

[@jpharrahill7655]

A big issue I had with the film is that by the end it felt like each character spoke in the author/screenwriter's voice, they weren't their own unique individuals. Everyone was much too profound and insightful. Even the young actor that played Uncle Vanya in the play gives a 2-3 minute speech in the back of a car towards the end of the movie that felt completely unlike the character.

[@mattearle1781]

This is true. A bit of Sorkin Syndrome indeed.

[@cr3ations]

except that if u read murakami's original material, this was the intention for the young actor. The monologue conveyed something about Takatsuki that Kafuku did not understand until then. And if you really understand the movie, this is shown in the movie too. Takatsuki gradually reveals aspects of his character that are, like all the other main characters, hidden far beneath the surface and expressed through rather odd actions.

[@looney1023]

I definitely had that problem with it too, and also with the film Mass which was also pretty beloved. The Vanya actor's speech didn't bother me, but the way the two main characters intellectualized their own behavior in their traumatic pasts felt like therapy instead of the dynamic they had built. I was definitely content with just watching these characters interact and have dinner/drive around/etc.

[@brajeshsingh2391]

honestly I saw half of the movie and I did not feel the runtime. Its very intricate and intense. And full of surprises. And very well acted. I mean most Asian movies tone down the drama but DMC really gets us to all the characters. The problem with international films is even though they are well made they struggle to communicate with the global audience as they localized themes but there are movies which have universal themes. DMC seems to be one of those movies.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thanks for watching. Hope you watch the rest of the movie!

[@brajeshsingh2391]

@@BreakfastAllDay As I mentioned I did watch and for a nearly 3 hr runtime its so well done. Not a scene not a moment feels wasted or unnecessary. I do not know if this is nominated for screenplay but it has a great chance if it were.

[@matend8125]

just finished it ,such an amazing experience

[@utkarshed]

Sorry if people have already brought this up before, but I just want to make the minor correction that the woman you mentioned isn't deaf, she just can't speak.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

Thank you!

[@truebras]

Bad review in the sense that totally gives it away. The pleasure of this film is to follow the layers of each main character on it.

[@BootsandUtes]

Though Hamaguchi doesn't move his camera much, how he frames the film often springs surprises. For instance, when Watari dips out of frame during the dinner scene, the camera does not immediately follow. What is Watari doing? Did she just go on all fours in the middle of dinner? The camera then follows to reveal that she's petting a dog. In another scene Hamaguchi decides to only frame Watari and Kafuku smoking outside the sanitation plant. They are isolated. The ocean backdrop is calm and quiet. This is broken by an offscreen thud. It's a frisbee. Another camera angle shows they aren't isolated. People are around them walking their dog and taking a stroll. I found these choices quite captivating.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

All masterful.

[@wolflarson71]

Very good movie if you can tolerate the slow pace.

[@jpharrahill7655]

For me, good to very good, but not great. The pacing was the issue...Not sure how you turn a 30 page short story into a 3 hour movie. There were definitely areas that could have been cut down while still keeping the theme and emotional payoff intact.

[@brajeshsingh2391]

I watched half of this movie. And well so far I thought that only CODA and POTG were Best FIlm contenders but after seeing half of it I have to say we may have the 3rd contender.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It'll definitely win international film.

[@brajeshsingh2391]

@@BreakfastAllDay and its a Dark Horse for the Best Picture category. I mean we often criticize the Academy but here they have given the nomination to Drive My Car which artistically can upset American films.

[@activelivingchallenger4298]

I like matt.

[@bluetsunami]

This film completely engulfs you in an unexpected way. By the end I was so invested in all the characters. It’s such a tender film.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's so stealthy, isn't it?

[@littlsuprstr]

Alonso and Christy!

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It's us!

[@Asian_Movie_Enthusiast]

This is a very solid movie.

[@BreakfastAllDay]

It is indeed. Thanks for watching!

[@jasonjones3694]

It was really great

[@AshleyGraetz]

Its not as good as Norwegian Wood book.. Murakami does not translate to film well. Another movie where you could drive a truck through most grass growing scenes.....

[@mpharaoh]

This movie is so long and boring. You deserve a medal just for finishing it. The characters make stupid and unbelievable decisions that it just takes you out of the film time and again. No you can't drive your own car because...insurance reasons. That is your cue that random shit is going to happen and you have to just accept it to get through the movie.

[@kiennguyen521]

ok lol stick with marvel movies

[@mpharaoh]

@@kiennguyen521 You can shove your pretentious gatekeeping where the sun don't shine kid.

[@maxforce]

​@@kiennguyen521 Great Movie Terrible editing.

[@davidsheriff9274]

@@maxforce what was wrong with the ending? I loved it.

[@maxforce]

@@davidsheriff9274 e -> DIT

[@angelthman1659]

Long, boring, too much Uncle Vanya.

[@patcurrie9888]

Once again, Best Foreign, aka International Film front runner gets into Best Picture. It is already a shoe in for it's best category. Why bother having Best International category? 3 hours of subtitles, I'll pass, besides they just explained the plot. Parasite was enjoyable and was in the same scenario just recently. Why a repeat situation? Do the US films not matter, qualify for Best Pic anymore?

[@avastans]

Why bother having an International category? Because the Oscars is considered the most prestigious award show in the world and they don't just want to showcase the best movies in the country, but in the world. And why a "repeat situation"? Maybe it's because the Academy realized that global films are just as important to view and just as good as films made in the US, some even better. And who said US films don't matter anymore? 8/10 of the Best Picture nominations were United States productions (excluding Belfast, unless you consider that a "US film" because it's filmed in English). Did you have an uproar when British and Irish films were nominated? Why is it such a problem that non-English films are being nominated? Are you that bothered by ONE non-English Eastern film being nominated for Best Picture? They didn't nominate one last year! Stop acting like this is suddenly a "trend." The fact of the matter is: non-English films are just as good as English films, even if it's not to your particular taste. Get with the times, you're ten steps behind.

[@patcurrie7808]

@@avastans okay, then US can compete in International Film and win every year.

[@davidsheriff9274]

@@avastans but foreign films are eligible for the other categories I believe. Drive my car was nominated for best picture and Parasite won best picture a few years ago. Why have a separate category for foreign films? Anyway everyone knows Drive My Car was the best picture of the year, one of the best movies ever made in my opinion, it's in my top five favorites. Who cares about the stupid Oscars, Citizen Kane didn't even win best picture or best director.