Photo/Illutration Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi reacts after “Drive My Car” wins best international feature film at the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 27. (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES--Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” picked up a golden passenger on March 27, bringing home the Oscar for best international feature film at the 2022 Academy Awards.

It marked the second Japanese film to win the best foreign film award after “Departures” by Yojiro Takita in 2009.

While hoisting the Oscar and naming members of the international cast, an elated Hamaguchi said, “Congratulations to you. We have won the prize.”

The nearly three-hour film was also nominated for best picture, said to be the most prestigious of all the categories at the Academy Awards, best director and best adapted screenplay.

It is the first Japanese film that received Oscar nominations for best director and best adapted screenplay.

Hamaguchi, 43, is the third Japanese director who was nominated for best director at the Academy Awards. Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa became the second Japanese director nominated for this category 36 years ago with “Ran.” No Japanese director has ever won the Oscar for best director.

“Drive My Car,” which is primarily based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name, tells the story of the great loss, grief, rebirth of a soul and power of art, starring Hidetoshi Nishijima as the protagonist Yusuke Kafuku.

Kafuku is an actor and theater director working on a multilingual production of "Uncle Vanya," a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekov, in Hiroshima.

The cast also includes Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima and Masaki Okada.

"Drive My Car" won best foreign language film at the Golden Globe Awards this year, a first for a Japanese film in that category in 62 years.

Hamaguchi, alongside Takamasa Oe, became the first Japanese to receive the best screenplay award for “Drive My Car” at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where the movie made its world premiere.

Hamaguchi’s accomplishments underscored afresh that Asians continue to make great strides in the global film industry.

In last year’s Academy Awards, “Nomadland” directed by Chloe Zhao, a Chinese-born filmmaker, won in three leading categories, including best picture, while Youn Yuh-jung, a South Korean actress, won the best supporting actress Oscar for her role in “Minari.” 

In 2020, the South Korean film “Parasite” won best picture, a first for any non-English language film in the nearly 100-year history of the Academy Awards.

Related News