Director of ‘Drive My Car’ surprised by Oscar, popularity

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscar-winning film “Drive My Car,” but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based. The movie centers on an actor who is directing a multilingual production of Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Still mourning the sudden loss of his wife, the actor leads the cast in rehearsals in which they sit and read their lines flatly, ingesting the language for days before acting them out. The 3-hour-long story of grief, connection and recovery won an Academy Award last month for best international feature film.