NP: Drive My Car

[Allan Balliett]

Sir

Where were you able to see this film?

Thank you

Allan in WV


On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 5:54 PM Johnny Marr <marrja at gmail.com> wrote:

> Apologies for not yet joining in the BE group read, I’ve yet to find my old
> copy. Will be happy to participate, it’s gone under the radar in more
> mainstream culture as one of the key 9/11 works
>
> Anyway, I’d like to recommend the film Drive My Car invade that goes under
> the radar. It’s a 3 hour Japanese film, adapted from a Murukami short
> story. It has moments of great stillness, sudden drama and a constantly
> undulating narrative of surprises, dilemmas, compromises, regrets and
> revelations.
>
> A story of a celebrated but flawed theatrical impressario burdened by his
> personal history and lost marriage, who has to come to terms with the
> devastating restriction of no longer able to drive (a key source of his
> creative and interior reflection), he takes on an enigmatic young female
> driver as he begins to assemble the cast for the adaptation of Uncle Vanya
> he’s been aching to make.
>
> Those who’ve seen Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s previous works might have some taste
> of what’s to come stylistically and thematically; if you’re unfamiliar, he
> combines what you might consider the traditional virtues of the understated
> Japanese dramas of Ozu, Kore-eda and Naruse with the cerebral
> conversational works of Rivette and Rohmer, the more technocratic
> psychosexual explorations of Kubrick and Cronenberg, and Hitchcock’s
> narratives of voyeurism, control, performance, guilt and helplessness.
>
> It’s a deeply thoughtful film which looks at the duality of man (and
> woman), the pain of betrayal, the fragility of trust and the drive for
> control in a world dictated for chance. It sees the importance of forgiving
> those who have trespassed against us, the anguish of discovering a darker
> side to those we have lost, the unknowability of one another’s inner
> thoughts and secrets, and how deeper truths can be communicated without a
> word exchanged. It’s the best film I’ve seen this year and if you’ve got
> the time and inclination I’d recommend it if it’s playing at a cinema near
> you.
>
>
> https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dazeddigital.com/film-tv/article/54809/1/drive-my-car-ryusuke-hamaguchi-cannes-wheel-of-fortune-fantasy-interview%3famp=1
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>