My second Hamaguchi in as many weeks as well as my penultimate TIFF film for 2021. Drive My Car is absolutely the best film I’ve seen in a while that completely dedicates itself to its pursuit for realism. It is not a film where there is a ton happening and a narrative that stretches beyond people going about their daily lives. It’s a movie where the opening credits don’t start running until over a half-hour into the film. It takes its time to let these characters breathe, and reaps all the benefits for it.

The cast of characters is so diverse, so well fleshed out, and so well brought to life by the actors that an already intelligent script by Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe. At nearly three hours long, not one time was I feeling the runtime, and it’s not like there was ever much more than people talking. Hamaguchi explores art, healing, relationships, and so much more through his characters, and, for whatever reason, it’s way more gripping than it’ll ever sound like it could be.