Drive My Car: What is Intertextuality | Video Essay

Accented Cinema - Episode 84
What makes Drive My Car such a good film, that it managed to win both Palme d'Or and an Oscar? Well, the reasons are numerous, but today, we'll focus on one: How it utilizes "intertextuality" to help add meanings to the film.

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[Justanotherconsumer]

Anton “the gun” Chekhov.

I salute this, and will use it wherever possible.

[SetaSouji]

a correction. Drive My Car did NOT win Palme D'or (the winner is Titane), but it won best screenplay at Cannes.

[Manasrai]

Great vid, just wanna say that I watched this film a few days back and I gotta disagree on needing to know the play before watching the movie to appreciate the film. I didn't know about the play until I saw your video actually and I really loved the film. I think the film gave a good idea of the play without telling us the entire story and also merging those with the right emotional beats. But this vid does make me see the film in a newer light so that's great too

[mjolninja]

I love the multilingual scenes, they felt natural. Just the entire vibe of the film was really something I enjoyed

[Auzzy]

For what it's worth, I knew nothing about Uncle Vanya when I saw Drive My Car, and it still was in my top 3 for the year. Although as you demonstrated very well, knowing Uncle Vanya makes for an even deeper, even more enriching experience.

[Ruylopez]

I think on top of this, the way Watari is also trapped in grief, and they use each other to come to terms with it adds a further dimension. He becomes almost like a father she never had, and she becomes almost like the daughter he lost. The fact that Kafuku and Oto used her writing to overcome their grief for their daughter becomes even more significant that Takatsuki knows part of the story he doesn't - like a further gut punch, while Takatsuki laments that he could never know Oto as well as Kafuku - another layer of jealousy. It creates different perspectives on grief, especially Yoon-a, who uses the play to overcome the pain of her miscarriage.

[Absthemexican]

I’ve read numerous reviews about this film, searching for clarification or navigation so that I could see it the way so many apparently did. None of them have come close to making me see the film as meaningfully as this video. While I’ve seen it twice and both times it left me cold, I at least feel like I have a better grasp on it after this since I knew nothing about Uncle Vanya beforehand. Thank you, great video

[thestray]

Interesting. I knew nothing about Uncle Vanya when I watched this film but still loved and didn't find it difficult at all. The themes come through pretty clear without knowing the parallels.

[VivianStreet]

Thank you for talking about the connections between DMC and Uncle Vanya! I went into the movie knowing nothing about Uncle Vanya and I still enjoyed it, but knowing how the connection between Kafuku and the character of Uncle Vanya reinforced Kafuku's feeling that he was an outsider in his own marriage makes his reluctance to play Uncle Vanya even more understandable.

[newvideosystem]

Now I understand what the purpose of the movie is. At first glance, it did honestly seem boring to watch, but the director made it that way intentionally to make it more difficult and resultingly a lot more rewarding when the story finally comes together.

[NatsukiMogiIsBestGirl]

Came for the cool little Saab, stayed for the amazing video essay. Good work as always!

[CheekyCultured]

As a petrolhead, the Saab 900 in Drive My Drive is the main reason why I wanted to watch this film in the first place! Apparently, the Saab in the original book was a convertible version in yellow, exactly the same as the one from Stephen Chow's "Fight Back To School 2"!

[Jobe-]

Using references to drive a story must be kind of hard and risky. A movie could easily flop if no one gets it.

[calebnailson]

We get an announcement that Drive My Car is being added to the criterion collection as well as a video essay on it from one of my favorite youtubers in the same day? lets go

[daanachmad]

I am impressed that a film with understated acting and lots of references to a play I am unfamiliar with.... can be an emotionally rich experience to watch.

[phillipwalewangko]

Unfortunately Drive My Car didn't won Palme d'Or but it was nominated and won best screenplay.

[kppenaflorida]

Nice of you to break it down. Found it hard to decipher the movie cos of its pacing.

[santruptip]

Hey there dude, I hope you see tis. This wasn't dry or boring at all I love understanding theories people learn in film school and I found this fascinating

[travischang]

I believe even we may not realised the intertexually themes in this movie, one must agree this is a brilliant movie about lost and acceptance. It's a good introduction to Murakami's stories and short stories as well. Now, if only this movie replaces all dogs with cats and Kafuku's wife mysteriously dies, this would be a perfect Murakami adaptation.

[mspirits]

Thanks for explaining the relation of this movie with uncle Vanya. It makes sense now why the movie story is like that.