“Drive My Car” has been one of the most buzzed and widely acclaimed International Films of the year post it’s screenplay wins at Cannes, award sweeps at various other Award ceremonies like the Golden Globes and multiple Oscar nominations. Much to the happiness of movie fanatics from India who’ve been waiting to catch hold of the film, the film is soon coming to Indian streamers. The multiple Academy award nominee and 94th Academy Award Winner for Best International Feature film, “Drive My Car” directed by Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi will be streaming on Mubi India from April 1,2022.
Primarily a road-drama film and most importantly a heart-touching journey of emotional and mental healing, the film was based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name from his 2014 collection “Men without Women “.
Co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the film follows Hidetoshi Nishijima‘s Yūsuke Kafuku directing a multilingual production of ” Uncle Vanya ” in Hiroshima as he grapples and comes to terms with the untimely demise of his wife. During the course he heals himself as he meets Misaki played by Tōko Miura who has her own baggage of trauma and scars to heal.
“Drive My Car” had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d’Or and won three awards, including Best Screenplay. It also earned four nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, namely Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best International Feature Film. The film went on to win the latter category. It was also the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture, while Hamaguchi is the third Japanese director nominated for Best Director since Hiroshi Teshigahara and Akira Kurosawa in 1965 and 1985 respectively.
With “Drive My Car” garnering the right amount of eye-balls, let us hope for more classic Japanese films and contemporary films to be picked up by international streamers.