Young director demonstrated the power of Japanese films

The world’s most prestigious lm awards have recognized a Japanese director in his 40s for his meticulous script and distinctive approach to directing. is is good news that will stimulate and energize the Japanese lm industry.

At the 94th Academy Awards, “Drive My Car,” directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, won the Oscar for International Feature Film, formerly known as the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Films not in the English language are eligible for the award, and 92 countries and regions submitted a candidate.

This is the rst time in 13 years that a Japanese lm has won the award, following “Okuribito” (“Departures”), directed by Yojiro Takita, at the 2009 Oscars.

Furthermore, “Drive My Car” was the rst Japanese lm to be nominated in the major categories of Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay; Hamaguchi was also nominated for Best Director.

At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the lm became the rst from Japan to win the best screenplay award. With an Oscar this time, it can be said that the appeal and power of Japanese lms has been presented to the world anew.

The award-winning lm is based on a short story by Haruki Murakami. It depicts the grief and recovery of a stage director who lost his wife.

The theme of recovery from loss must have touched the hearts of those who lost family and friends in the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Although the lm is three hours long and is thin on amusement, many have commented that it does not bore them. Hamaguchi cowrote the screenplay and his insistence on a “screenplay that feels like reality” is probably the key to the success of the lm.

The movie makes bold changes to Murakami’s original story.

As for the lm’s particular subject matter, it is notable for its incorporation of various languages and sign language in the play within the lm. It draws attention to Hamaguchi’s peculiar style of directing in which he has actors emotionlessly read their lines in rehearsal in order to bring out natural performances during actual shooting.

Aft er being criticized for being dominated by white men, the organization that votes on the Oscars has in recent years changed to become more diverse, increasing the number of members who are women, non-white and foreign.

In 2020, South Korean lm “Parasite” became the rst lm not in the English language to win the Oscar for Best Picture, regarded as an achievement of the academy’s reforms.

e waning sentiment that Hollywood’s English-language lms are the mainstream is providing a boost to

lms from areas like Japan where English is not predominant.

In the Japanese lm industry, directors Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takeshi Kitano, Hirokazu Koreeda and Naomi Kawase have long been critically lauded on the international stage. Hamaguchi follows in the footsteps of these four, having studied under the likes of Kurosawa at the graduate school of the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Hopefully, this award will promote the further nurturing of young talent in the lm industry.