Press Release Criterion Press Release: Drive My Car (2021) (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

​

Only Ryusuke Hamaguchi—with his extraordinary sensitivity to the mysterious resonances of human interactions—could sweep up international awards and galvanize audiences everywhere with a pensive, three-hour movie about an experimental staging of an Anton Chekhov play, presented in nine languages and adapted from Haruki Murakami stories. With Drive My Car, the Japanese director has confirmed his place among contemporary cinema’s most vital voices. Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) arrives in Hiroshima to direct a production of Uncle Vanya for a theater festival and, through relationships with an actor (Masaki Okada) with whom he shares a tangled history and a chauffeur (Toko Miura) with whom he develops a surprising rapport, finds himself confronting emotional scars. This quietly mesmerizing tale of love, art, grief, and healing is ultimately a cathartic exploration of what it means to go on living when there seems to be no road ahead.

FILM INFO​

• Japan
• 2021
• 179 minutes
• Color
• 1.85:1
• Japanese, English, Korean, Korean Sign Language, German, Mandarin, Tagalog, Indonesian, Malay
• Spine #1136

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES​

• New 2K digital master, approved by director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interview with Hamaguchi
• Program about the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with actors Reika Kirishima, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masaki Okada, Yoo-rim Park, Dae-Young Jin, and others
• Press conference footage from the film’s premiere at the 2021 Cannes International Film Festival
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation and English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by author Bryan Washington
  
  New cover by Jason Hardy
  
  July 19, 2022

 

[Ronald Epstein]

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[titch]

The international feature films nominated for the Academy award this year were really great movies - Criterion has done well to release two of them. I saw this slow-burner theatrically twice. No reviewer ever mentioned that at one point, the sound completely disappears for about a minute. I saw the film in two different cinemas, so I am convinced it wasn't a glitch in the audio playback in the theatre!

 

[Angelo Colombus]

Chances are good my local library will get it and will check it out.

 

[titch]

A really haunting masterpiece - I'm purchasing the Criterion today, even though what's-his-face over on the other site made disparaging comments about macroblocking. I don't really put any stock in his reviews, though. If it really isn't up to scratch, the UK MUBI release could be an alternative. Definitely deserves a place in any serious library.

 

[bujaki]

My favorite film of 2021. An experience to be savored as one grows with it.

 

[PaulaJ]

Absolutely beautiful, poignant film and one I think will especially appeal to folks who are fans of live theater.

 

[titch]

The first thing I checked, when I received the disc today, was whether there was an audio dropout lasting 45 seconds from 2:32:40. There is. I reacted to it at the cinema and found that not a single reviewer has mentioned this. Not even over on the other site. Definitely an artistic choice.