Three stories:
The plot ingredients of the first - the problem of exes - material for a good farce or romantic comedy, but the segment here is complex, serious, hurt feelings instead of laughs. In other words, director Hamaguchi and actors treat the topic realistically. The second tale reminded me of the few pages of Murasaki I once managed to get through. And it is dark. The last story, my favorite, could have been inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Three Hours Between Planes" (1941), only here the tale is more complex, the characters' emotional intensity heightened.
For all three I had to remind myself that I was watching actors performing scripted roles. Just about every moment is believable. That credibility, combined with the demands of relating to the emotions presented on screen, make this a kind of "action" movie. In place of explosions and crashes, we get a strong, unadulterated presentation of the real lives of ordinary, flawed human beings, potentially the most frightening subject matter that can be put on a screen.
This is cinema's equivalent of the dry martini, strong and unadorned. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly deserves more of an audience.
To explain my vote a little: I knew nothing about Ryusuke Hamaguchi until I decided to see at least one 2021 Oscar-nominated movie and happened to choose "Drive My Car" at random. The experience sent me to this work, also released in 2021. Since seeing "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" I have seen "Asako I & II" (2018) and most recently, "Happy Hour" (2015). All told I think I have seen over twelve hours of movies from this director.
Time well spent.
The plot ingredients of the first - the problem of exes - material for a good farce or romantic comedy, but the segment here is complex, serious, hurt feelings instead of laughs. In other words, director Hamaguchi and actors treat the topic realistically. The second tale reminded me of the few pages of Murasaki I once managed to get through. And it is dark. The last story, my favorite, could have been inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Three Hours Between Planes" (1941), only here the tale is more complex, the characters' emotional intensity heightened.
For all three I had to remind myself that I was watching actors performing scripted roles. Just about every moment is believable. That credibility, combined with the demands of relating to the emotions presented on screen, make this a kind of "action" movie. In place of explosions and crashes, we get a strong, unadulterated presentation of the real lives of ordinary, flawed human beings, potentially the most frightening subject matter that can be put on a screen.
This is cinema's equivalent of the dry martini, strong and unadorned. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly deserves more of an audience.
To explain my vote a little: I knew nothing about Ryusuke Hamaguchi until I decided to see at least one 2021 Oscar-nominated movie and happened to choose "Drive My Car" at random. The experience sent me to this work, also released in 2021. Since seeing "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy" I have seen "Asako I & II" (2018) and most recently, "Happy Hour" (2015). All told I think I have seen over twelve hours of movies from this director.
Time well spent.