Drive My Car

Ryūsuke Hamaguchi is coming to Walker Cinema on Thursday, October 29, for a screening of Drive My Car followed by a conversation with the filmmaker himself. It's part of the Walker's Ryūsuke Hamaguchi: Effect and Cause program, so if you've been following his work, this is the one night he's actually in the room.

Drive My Car (2021) is a road epic based on a short story by Haruki Murakami. It follows Yusuke Kafuku, an actor-director who stages a multilingual production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya during a residency in Hiroshima. The story unfolds through his interactions with his wife Oto, the actor Takatsuki, and his chauffeur Misaki, and the way those relationships map out his own self-examination. It's a long movie—the version shown here runs 179 minutes—and it's in Japanese and Korean Sign Language with English subtitles. The film earned four Oscar nominations, becoming the first Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture, and it took home Best International Feature.

Hamaguchi is one of the most inventive voices in contemporary cinema. His earlier work includes The Depths (2010) and Happy Hour (2015), and more recently Evil Does Not Exist (2023), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice. Having him there for a conversation after the screening is a rare chance to hear from the person behind the film, especially on a night that pairs the movie with his own presence.

The screening starts at 7 PM at Walker Cinema, inside the Walker Art Center. Tickets are $15, or $12 for Walker members, seniors, and students.