Drive My Car: What is Intertextuality | Video Essay
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
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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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Anton “the gun” Chekhov.
I salute this, and will use it wherever possible.
Lmao
The misfiring gun.....should I say.
i know it stemmed from the term chekhov's gun, but to be nicknamed as simply "the gun" is so dope
This is the setup. And now we wait... for the payoff.
a correction. Drive My Car did NOT win Palme D'or (the winner is Titane), but it won best screenplay at Cannes.
Ironic considering both movies involve the main character riding a car.
It won the oscar
@@nathwcx8299 I'm not sure you understand irony.
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
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.
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.
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.
Same here.
it seems some people just cannot handle films that are slow-paced, dialogue-driven and not visually flashy.
11:07 Park Yoo-Rim made a memorable performance in this scene. It was a tragedy that she was not nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role. The entire scene: ua-cam.com/video/y77FELZaE6c/v-deo.html
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
12:06 “the film is challenging to watch”. It sure is - a slow paced movie without many (or any) major movies shouldn’t really be 3hr movie. I found the story very fascinating but the pace for 3hrs makes it a difficult watch. The pace and quality of the story reminds me of Roma but Roma was 45 min shorter. That extra 45 min for Drive My Car really are noticeable. I can’t recommend this film to anyone unless I know they like art house movies. I have no idea about the play within the movie so if I was familiar with it maybe I would have a different opinion.
@@Homer-OJ-Simpson nah you're good. the term obligatory is just direct references found in the film that the writer utilizes which is a narrative tool to further explore ideas, the vid creator misinterpreted that it's something necessary for the viewers. it only enhances the experience but it's not a must read really.
@@sumiokodai1652 Thanks. It's a well written movie and funny enough, my brother generally dislikes these slow movies and he actually watched it and enjoyed. I enjoyed it but I feel it could have been a memorable movie for me if it had cut 30-45 minutes. Roma was more enjoyable and I'm sure to rewatch it again in the future. I'm certainly not against 3hr movies as two of my top 3 favorite movies of all time were around 3hrs (the Godfather 1&2) plus a few other great movies are 3hrs such as Schindler's List, Gone with the Wind, etc.
But all of those were full of important moments and not situations where the slowness of the movie was meant to enhance the story. For example, if you take any 20 minutes moment of the God Father 1 and 2, you have a lot going on. People plotting, people actually doing what they plotted, drama, etc. There are several moments of Drive where if you take 20 minutes of the film and didn't see the other parts, you will have no interest in those 20 minutes. It's slow and long to show you his mundane and possibly sad life while in these other movies, they aren't slow, they are just long due to so much going on.
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.
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.
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.
Using references to drive a story must be kind of hard and risky. A movie could easily flop if no one gets it.
Or if someone gets and finds it shallow - check Disaster Movie.
@@BruceTorres the name is literally Disaster Movie?
@@cerridianempire1653 Yep
That's the beauty of it.
I don’t this this movie was made for commercial reasons
Unfortunately Drive My Car didn't won Palme d'Or but it was nominated and won best screenplay.
Nice of you to break it down. Found it hard to decipher the movie cos of its pacing.
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
Came for the cool little Saab, stayed for the amazing video essay. Good work as always!
The name's certainly a clue to that
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"!
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.
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
Thanks for explaining the relation of this movie with uncle Vanya. It makes sense now why the movie story is like that.
Eyyy, one of my ACNH streamers, dianadaises, talked about this during one of her streams; happy to see it being covered here 🥰
When I watched the movie, I knew the Uncle Vanya play is eating Kafuku alive. The fact he doesn't want to play Uncle Vanya until he's cornered and forced into it is enough to make me feel pitiful to him.
Tbh for me, one part of DMC feels like watching melodramatic Perfect Blue.
And the revelation of the driver in the end really gives this story its' bittersweet conclusion, it relieved me a bit.
Late comment, but I appreciated Kamen Rider: Black Sun after seeing Hidetoshi Nishijima's performance here---made what was supposed to be a "gritty reboot" of a Kamen Rider that much better. Nice to see Nishijima-san's versatility in full effect here.
Thank you for the lesson on Intertextuality, it's felt like something I've known about for a long time but lacked the proper term for it.
I read the whole book, men without women. And obviously this story as well, I remember I wasn't captivated by it but once again pleased at how well Murakami wrote what is like to drive a Saab. He did the same with a miata in Kafka in the shore.
Do you think there was a deliberate artistic choice in centering this film around a left-hand drive car?
Dude, UA-cam is no longer recommending me your vids. I totally missed this one.
Murakami is my favorite author, The Beatles are my favorite band, and I coincidentally drive a Saab. I really enjoyed Burning, but I think I'm putting this film off until my Japanese is a lot better and I can understand it without subtitles.
I don't think you need to know Uncle Vanya. This is a common recourse, and not knowing that play at the beginning of the film I didn't need much time to connect the nods between the two stories. But obviously is interesting to analyze how both coexist, I just don't need the play to fully understand both the film and the play at the end of the film.
Holy shit ok I haven't watched the video yet but I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU DOING A VIDEO ON DRIVE MY CAR. I was wishing for this so bad, my dreams came true.
Thank you! Even though I didn't know Uncle Vanya, I really enjoyed Drive My Car. But your video essay provided a much greater appreciation for the film.
Wow! Accented Cinema has made fantastic connections of cinema. Wonderful lectures and show. Astonishing.
thanks for making this video!! though i was able to understand most of the story and parallels while watching the film and knowing nothing about uncle vanya, watching you make the connections has really strengthened my appreciation of drive my car. what a great movie!!!
been waiting on this one!
Very interesting explanation. Thank you!
Great vids, i knew the film has a story within a story. Thanks for the video, it helped me a lot.
I have subscribed to you, as l like your channel very much. It has been recommended by my you tube. Sometimes they do something good. I saw first your Leslie Cheung program, now this one. I am impressed. Thank you.
I loved this movie, everyone portrayed their inner suffering so well
Great video. You make good points on intertextuality and how it uses this literary device to intertwine the story of Uncle Vanya with the main storyline happening in Drive My Car. I don't agree that you need knowledge of the play beforehand to enjoy this move though I appreciate your video helping to put things into perspective. Kind of like you don't really need prior knowledge of Murakami's work and the short story this is based on, but if you do have that knowledge it can only help enhance your viewing. This is a movie I want to come back to over and over again. It never really gets old. It only gets better with every viewing as it is a movie rich in layers. The characters have so much depth, they feel real. Thanks for this vid though it helps me appreciate this movie even more.
Amazing as always! THank you
I never read uncle vanya, i never see uncle vanya, but when i see this movie, it seem like i understand the play. In fact, this movie tell me about uncle vanya and let me understand the play. But still, what i watch is drive my car and my priority is drive my car story, that's why what i try to understand is what happened in the movie, not the play. This, give me some perspective to understand the action of the character in this movie
This channel is top tier for film analysis UA-cam
I like very much the use of Death of the salesman on Ashgar Farhadi's The Salesman. Because I'm not familirized with Uncle Vanya I didn't enjoy as much the film. Great video!! Thanx!!!
Thanks for explaining the extra depth of this movie. I watched it without knowing anything. Still enjoyed it but I typically like simple movies.
Looking forward to seeing this film the cinematography looks good
First time I watched Drive My Car, I enjoyed it fine. The 3hr run time was a challenge to get through, it’s a flick that asks a lot from the viewer. I’m sure if I’d seen Uncle Vanya, I would probably have enjoyed it more. Still, it at least motivated me to check out the play (at some point) and I’ve bought “Men without Women”; the short story collection Drive My Car is based on.
Neat video, thanks for the info. :)
I love all Murakami books. It was one of his genuine stories made into a movie like Norwegian Wood.
His books are best. Thank you.
I knew nothing about Uncle Vanya but I still enjoyed the whole movie. Why? I think it's because I'm also a fan of Haruki Murakami. So I'm already used to his narrative style. In particular, I've read the short stories beforehand so I knew what I was going to watch.
Woo first time im the first like, gonna watch this at breakfast in a moment, thanks for the upload, im looking forward to it!
I literally died laughing at watching Scary Movie when I saw it in the theater. All those years ago... (Beatles reference, George Harrison song recording)
So if I've already seen Uncle Vanya, but I want to watch it repeated again and again with less drama and less emotion, then this is a great one to watch, eh?
Yeah, this is why "slow cinema" usually isn't for me.
Damn... That's a bad charactarisation.
Holy....that ad you put in there was smooth. I really thought it had something to do with the video. Two finger guns at you my good sir! 👉👉
Great video
Ngl i watched this movie as soon as i was able to see it in theaters, i went not knowing a thing about it and neither about Uncle Vanya and thus had a really bad experience for 3hours not understanding what the movie was trying to tell.
Watching this video has helped me find a new point of view of this movie and i'm really grateful of you for that.
As always keep up the great work my dude :)
I do hope you'll make a video about Filipino Cinema. We have a century worth of film history and tradition you can explore. Also our quirky Hispanic, American(US), and Asian hybrid culture might interest you.
Love it.
I've never read Uncle Vania, for me Drive my Car was movie about using art as therapy lol
Missed this movie when it was first released in the uk. Waited months for it to be screened again, after it started getting Oscar buzz in the US. Watched it twice in the cinema, now I’m gonna have to watch or read uncle Vanya so I can get in a third watch
I feel like I did appreciate this film, but I cannot say that I liked it that much. The pace and repetitive nature had me fidgeting too much, whereas the full-length scenes in the significantly longer Happy Hour practically put me into a trancelike state.
12:06 “the film is challenging to watch”. It sure is - a slow paced movie without many (or any) major movies shouldn’t really be 3hr movie. I found the story very fascinating but the pace for 3hrs makes it a difficult watch. The pace and quality of the story reminds me of Roma but Roma was 45 min shorter. That extra 45 min for Drive My Car really are noticeable. I can’t recommend this film to anyone unless I know they like art house movies. I have no idea about the play within the movie so if I was familiar with it maybe I would have a different opinion.
Holy crap I wish I could’ve seen that version of Uncle Vanya from the clips you show. Talk about a great cast.
There's a dvd that you can buy.
Almost choked on my dinner laughing at Chekov the Gun, cheers haha
Wake up, Honey! New Accented Cinema Banger just dropped!
Good job 👍
thank you so much
I've heard such good things about this film! I can't wait to watch it
AC: "Anton 'The Gun' Chekov'."
Me: *Likes*
I'm proud of that joke.
@@AccentedCinema you should be. It's great!
What is your take on intertextuality within a franchise? How some parts of it can elevate things that were deemed lesser or reductive/derivative of source and how these things can affect the overall viewer experience.
That’s a beautiful Saab.
I really wanna watch this now but also I don't wanna spoil myself as I haven't watched it yet. Luckily it's screening in one place and I will go watch it soon.
Same
We just watched this. Generally enjoyed it, but probably could have been edited down a bit.
Bought this film on Blu Ray and enjoyed it
BABE WAKE UP ACCENTED CINEMA BROUGHT THE ORIGINAL CONCLUSION MISIC BACK
How do you notice all the small details like this and develop a video essay? Like I’m familiar with the term intertextuality but how did you notice it within the film?
It took me 3 days and roughly 8 hours to finish watching this 3 hour movie :|
@@AccentedCinema oof I remember doing that with Royal Tenenbaums. Took lots of notes but nothing stuck out
Yes
You should make a video about Diretor Chang Cheh.
interestingly, Spiderman: No way home is an other example for textuality, in which makes the film to watch.
Anton "The Gun" Chekov... that sounds so badass
Still waiting for your video about everything everywhere all at once.
I know Uncle Vanya -- although memory was hazy while I watched DMC. I suspect that most people that watch DMC do not know Vanya, and that does not affect their ability to follow and enjoy (or not enjoy) it. 7:49 The video says that the protagonist thinks his wife "deep down" had no feelings for him. That is not my understanding -- I think he explicitly says they loved each other, despite her numerous infidelities, which she needed for the purposes of her artistic expression. I think it was only the fact that she loved him that made him stay.
Btw, I am fairly well-acquainted with oriental cinema. Still, this film left me a little cold -- which I was not expecting, despite not enjoying any of the two-and-a-half Murakami novels I read. (The half was 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle', which I gave up on twice!!)
HOLY SHIT
This movie is based on the story? Omg I gotta watch it now
I read Drive My Car when I bought Men Without Women a year ago and it's one of those stories that really made me think about how relationships should work apart from the amatonormative view of society
From the looks of it they expanded heavily on the short because the short story itself never shows the wife, she's already dead when we join Kafuku and Watari, everything we know of the story is told to us by Kafuku and his dealings with Takatsuki who he befriended after the wife's death
I believe the wife has been dead for a while up to this point and Kafuku has been living with a guilt of never having that conversation with his wife and envying the fact that he never knew his wife the way Takatsuki knew of her (hence him befriending Takatsuki)
I gotta watch this movie now
Ayo did you see Everything Everywhere All At Once?
Will be watching it soon! I heard nothing but greatness, honestly pretty excited.
@@AccentedCinema
Honestly, the film being released inbetween _Spider-Man: No Way Home_ and the upcoming _Dr. Strange 2: The Multiverse of Madness_ is the perfect sweet spot because it rides on the trend of cinematic multiverses without being too late for it where audiences are over with multiverse stories. I watched the film with my younger brother who's not as much of a cinephile as I am and we both loved it and thought EEAAO was one of the best films we saw in 2022. Despite how crazy everything is in the film, it's grounded in a tale of family and I actually felt a bit emotional in the end. The performances, cinematography, editing, and writing are on point and the direction by the Daniels retains the quirky absurd humor of their previous collaborative work _Swiss Army Man_ while not having as much toilet humor and it's quirky without being cringey. And the action choreography was unexpected but pretty sweet. All in all, I think you'll really enjoy it.
Now, I can't wait to watch The Northman this Saturday with 2 of my college buds. :)
@@AccentedCinema I’m honestly looking forward to what you have to say about that movie
Dang. I had almost lost faith in intertextuality after seeing horrible uses of it in, say, Star Wars, until this video. Thanks for this!
Will you make a video on Everything Everywhere All at Once??
Please do an in depth analysis of the cinema of Satyajit Ray.
Interesting, but you make the mistake of confusing satire for parody. It isn't essential to know "Uncle Vanya", but familiarity will certainly deepen the viewer's understanding of the film which reflects the movie in so many ways.
Make a Video about Shin Ultraman.
Funny how even though i didnt was aware of the concept of intertextuality i was able to undertand most of the plot and what it was aiming for although like you said in the video the firts around 40 minutes i was freaking struggle to get what was all about, even then i still didnt like the movie to being honest the way this is narrated its exhausting and at the same time the overall outcome doesnt work it, one ( at least in my case) put huge amounts of attention to get each scenes but the movie itselft doesnt hold anything that worth such effort, i have seen another movies of the same nature but this one was bad.
Intertextuality based in this video can be an really nice tool to narrate an movie but this is not an good example ( in my opinion at least).
The sun and moon will always connect to make another
Sounds like accidental intertextuality is what Tolkien called applicability.
you should make a video about chinese comedy movies and their kind of humor
Ahh... It remind me a lot of Liz And Blue Bird from Kyoto Animation
I was *fixed* when you said Haruki Murakami.
12:06 “the film is challenging to watch”. It sure is - a slow paced movie without many (or any) major movies shouldn’t really be 3hr movie. I found the story very fascinating but the pace for 3hrs makes it a difficult watch. The pace and quality of the story reminds me of Roma but Roma was 45 min shorter. That extra 45 min for Drive My Car really are noticeable. I can’t recommend this film to anyone unless I know they like art house movies. I have no idea about the play within the movie so if I was familiar with it maybe I would have a different opinion.
Take a drink every time accented cinema says uncle vanya. (Don't if you love your life)
Anton "the gun" Chekov lmao.
who killed oto?!! was it yasuke?!!
I must admit not knowing Uncle Vanya's somewhat connection with this movie.
Are you reviewing RRR , an Indian Movie.
I would love to listen you thoughts!
Must this blessing shield you from the wrath of the Holy Ones & Zeros.