“その先にあるものを、僕はまだ知らない。”
舞台俳優であり、演出家の家福悠介。彼は、脚本家の妻・音と満ち足りた日々を送っていた。しかし、妻はある秘密を残したまま突然この世からいなくなってしまう――。２年後、演劇祭で演出を任されることになった家福は、愛車のサーブで広島へと向かう。そこで出会ったのは、寡黙な専属ドライバーみさきだった。喪失感を抱えたまま生きる家福は、みさきと過ごすなか、それまで目を背けていたあることに気づかされていく…
製作費: $1,300,000 (2億円)
興行収入: $15,356,046 (23億円)
推定収支: $14,056,046 (21億円)
※製作費・興行収入はTMDBのデータを参照しています。収支は(興行収入 - 製作費)で算出したFindKey独自の推定値であり、広告宣伝費や諸経費は含まれません (1ドル=150円換算)。
FindKeyのエディトリアルチームがこの作品の深層や歴史を解説しています。
監督: 濱口竜介
制作: Yoshito Nakabe / Jin Suzuki / Sachio Matsushita
撮影監督: 四宮秀俊 / Lee Tae-hun
制作会社: Bitters End / C&I entertainment / Culture Entertainment / nekojarashi / Quaras / Bungeishunju / Nippan Group Holdings / The Asahi Shimbun / L'espace Vision
"Kafuku" (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is an accomplished stage actor who is directing a performance of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" with a group of young actors. He arrives at the venue in his red Saab motor car, determined that only he will drive himself. That's not the policy of the theatre, though, and soon he is placed in the capable hands of the somewhat laconic "Misaki" (Tôko Miura) and as the two start to get used to one and other, and he starts to get to know his new cast, the story unfolds revealing his past - his marriage to a famous playwright that ended in tragedy, and of his driver's own demons as the pair - entirely platonically - begin to fill the gaps left in each other's lives by times gone by. I did quite enjoy this, there are quite a few quirks to the story, not least from the handsome and curiously enigmatic 'Kôji" (Masaki Okada) whose storyline intertwines intriguingly with that of his mentor, and the film adopts a pace of it's own which you will appreciate right from the start (or not!). The dialogue is sparse though, perhaps a little too much so at times, and at almost three hours long it can feel like a bit of a slog at times. Director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi has possibly over indulged himself a little with the style of the film, it dawdles, cinematographically speaking, and I suppose at the title suggests, there are quite a few scenes suggesting that more of a road trip movie might be in order. It is still a very easy film to watch, it requires concentration and somehow the fact that it's that Chekhov play seems apposite, too. I would see it on a big screen if you can - I suspect on television even the most focussed of us might find our attention wandering after a while.
I find this film to be a near perfect drama. I understand that most Americans and perhaps younger viewers everywhere will not appreciate the pacing of the movie. There are two things about this movie that make it an actor's movie. First is the play within the play: the play within is Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and, like most Russian classics, it's about the human condition and the response to suffering. It's the play within the play because the film slowly reveals a mirror of Chekhov's play itself. Second, some playwrights have the gift of writing dialog that leaves the real storytelling to the unspoken dialogue - Shakespeare, Pinter, Stoppard - they all had this gift, and I nominate Hamaguchi to this list. It is amazing to watch this kind of production because it only survives with the richness and depth of the acting. It is the sole reason that theater companies can do these kind of plays and each version is completely unique. Even if you are not aware of this aspect of a play, Lee Yoo-na (Park Yu-rim) pointed out that her silence allowed her to see the deeper dialogue more clearly. As to the pacing? It's a brilliant reflection of the way Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima) was directing Uncle Vanya.
