Drive My Car

Loved it even more on my second watch. It’s the way the film keeps you thinking that makes the runtime breeze by. Whether it’s the parallels the movie is drawing to Uncle Vanya to the numerous overtly meta set pieces, the film gives you a lot to chew on. In fact it invites you to resonate in its messaging. The extreme long shots of the red car traversing through the landscape pairs as a great visual to stew on the dialogue. It is as if the viewers are along side the main character on the road; pondering what this all means. For that I can’t not like a film like this. It’s quiet, understated, and heavily thematic. It strikes a personal chord with me as well. I feel like this movie was made with the pandemic in mind. Never mind the ending, but this film has a lot to say about the trials and tribulations we all went through during the pandemic. Our frustrations, our desperate grasp to take control over the wheel in a powerless situation; to escape. I think everyone during lockdown felt like Yūsuke Kafuku—or Uncle Vanya for that matter. Powerless and feeling like time is passing you by. In a desperate attempt to gain control they escape with their work/hobby/passion. Until they sucked the soul out of what they have once loved. So, as the closing pieces of dialogue were said, or rather signed to us, i am reminded of the reasons why i keep moving forward, why i keep driving. "We'll Live Through the Long, Long Days, and Through the Long Nights. And When Our Last Hour Comes We'll Go Quietly"