Acommunity’s rural idyll comes under threat in Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s new film (Ryô Nishikawa as Hana, pictured)
One of the most remarkable aspects of the 2022 Oscars was the success of Drive My Car. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour opus was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, and won the Best International Feature award. So how’s it been since then? ‘To be honest, my life hasn’t changed that much,’ says Hamaguchi. ‘In fact, if young Japanese directors today came over to see where I live, I think they’ll be disappointed in what they find.’
If this suggests a modesty to the 45-year-old writer/director, it also comes with a fierce ambition. His latest film, Evil Does Not Exist, was spawned from his composer Eiko Ishibashi, who also scored Drive My Car. She proposed to Hamaguchi that he shoot some images to accompany a live performance of her music – a silent short film ultimately titled Gift. From that, Hamaguchi’s feature emerged, as he built a story around some of those images.