Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s movie, “Drive My Car” has been nominated in the Best Picture category at the Oscars, making it the first time a Japanese movie is nominated in the said category.

The film, which stars Hidetoshi Nishijima and Toko Miura, also received three other nominations – Best Director for Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamaguchi and co-writer Takamasa Oe, as well as a place in the Best International Feature Film category.

It is noted that it has been 36 years since the last Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, was nominated in the Best Director category.

The movie, which revolves around the growing relationship between an aging widowed actor and a 23-year-old female driver, has been going around the film festival circuits last year, winning three awards at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival including Best Screenplay and FIPRESCI Prize. It also won Best International Film awards and similar accolades at the New York Film Critics Circle, the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, as well as Gotham Independent Film Awards among others.

(Photo Source: Japan Times, Senses of Cinema)