Drive My Car

Description

Drive My Car follows Yūsuke Kafuku, a respected stage actor and director still grappling with the untimely death of his wife, Oto, a screenwriter with whom he shared a complex and emotionally distant relationship. Two years after her death, Kafuku accepts a residency in Hiroshima to direct a multilingual stage production of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. As part of the theatre company’s rules, he is assigned a young woman named Misaki as his driver, despite his initial reluctance to let anyone else handle his beloved red Saab. Quiet and reserved, Misaki begins to drive Kafuku to and from rehearsals, and their time together gradually softens the barriers between them. As rehearsals unfold and Kafuku interacts with his diverse cast, including a volatile young actor connected to his late wife, long-buried emotions surface, forcing him to confront the ambiguities of his past and the guilt and longing he has been suppressing. The long, meditative car rides become moments of reflection and quiet intimacy, as Kafuku and Misaki slowly share their stories, revealing their own experiences of loss, regret, and resilience. Through these conversations and the unfolding drama of the play, both begin to rediscover the possibility of healing and connection. Drive My Car is a contemplative and emotionally layered film about grief, memory, and the ways people try to carry on when words fail and silence remains. Its patient storytelling and deep emotional resonance explore the intersections of art and life, communication and isolation, ultimately offering a powerful meditation on the human condition.