How did Ryusuke Hamaguchi make “Drive My Car?”
Adoption of Haruki Murakami’s short story
“Drive my Car” was directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and produced by Teruhisa Yamamoto. After they made “寝ても覚めても (mete mo sametemo), or Asako I & II” together in 2018, Yamamoto proposed a movie based on Haruki Murakami’s short story, which was not “Drive My Car.” Although the idea didn’t work out, it reminded Hamaguchi about Murakami’s “Drive My Car” that was part of “Men without Women,” a collection of seven short stories about men dealing with loneliness.
Hamaguchi read the story before and “thought the story captured some truth about ‘voice’.” He specifically remembered a description about Koji Takatsuki (an actor with whom the protagonist’s recently deceased wife was sleeping), which went: “It felt as if Takatsuki’s voice surfaced all the way from somewhere deep, deep inside him. Even if it was only for a brief moment, he opened his secret door. It reverberated as a real, pure message he meant honestly. It was obvious that he wasn’t acting nor pretending.”
An actor uttered some words that he truly meant. How do you realize it in a movie, in which actors are supposed to act? Hamaguchi decided that it was going to be the question he wanted to tackle in his next movie. Hamaguchi and Yamamoto wrote a draft plot and sent it over to Haruki Murakami. He approved.
“Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekhov
Iefuku (the protaconist) is an actor-turned theater director. In the movie, he directs “Uncle Vanya” by Russian author/play writer Anton Chekhov. Hamaguchi felt a special connection with Murakami’s story when he found the title “Uncle Vanya,” as Chekhov has always been Hamaguchi’s inspiration. He incorporated “Three Sisters” in his previous movie “Asako I & II.” “As I read “Uncle Vanya,” I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the text. I felt as if uncle Vanya and Iefuku started to synchronize, lead the whole thing and try to take me with them.”
Hidetoshi Nishijima
Hamaguchi always liked Nishijima as an actor. When he found Nishijima’s high praise on “Asako I & II,” he felt that the respect was mutual. The main reason why he wanted Nishijima to play Iefuku was because he believed that he would be a perfect fit as a main character of Murakami’s story – you can’t be a “me, me” person, but you still have to stay true to yourself. It turns out that Nishijima is also a fan of Murakami.
Toko Miura
Hamaguchi met Toko Miura (who played Misaki Watari, Iefuku’s driver) at an audition for his new movie. His impression was that Miura was smart in a way that would make people around her better. She wouldn’t use her intelligence to judge or look down others. “That’s Misaki,” Hamaguchi felt.
Reference
https://eiga.com/news/20220209/9/
