Ry?suke Hamaguchi’s 'Drive My Car' is nearly 3 hours long. Every minute is a masterpiece

Let’s get this out of the way up front: “Drive My Car,” Ry?suke Hamaguchi’s beautiful film, is nearly three hours long.

As in, two hours and 59 minutes. As someone who has complained that so many movies are bloated and overlong lately (hello, “Don’t Look Up”), I’ll say this: Maybe it should be longer. So immersed will you become in the film that you want to keep existing in its world, even if that world can be painful, and much of it is.

Describing it won’t convince you of that. Diving into it will. Hamaguchi based the film on a Haruki Murakami short story, and it’s deceptively simple.

Sort of.

A production of 'Uncle Vanya' drives a lot of the plot

Yusuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a theater actor and director married to Oto (Reika Kirishima), who writes for television. She has a rather unique way of coming up with story ideas — she dreams them up and speaks them aloud while having sex with Yusuke.

She doesn’t always remember details, however, so later he fills them in, sometimes honing them.

It’s a different kind of relationship, and not just because of their rather unique creative methods, which include his driving his beloved red Saab 900 while listening to Oto reading lines from whatever he’s performing in, leaving blank spaces for his. Their lives are informed by tragedy, and will be again.

All of this, which lasts nearly 40 minutes, is just the pre-credit sequence, though it’s compelling enough to be its own short film.

A couple of years later, a cultural center in Hiroshima hires Yusuke to direct “Uncle Vanya.” It’s a unique production, with the actors, some from different countries, speaking different languages. One woman, Yoon-a (Yoo-rim Park), is mute; she performs in Korean Sign Language.

Yusuke asked for lodging an hour away, so that he could continue his process of learning lines (though he’s not planning to perform). But the organizers have bad news: Liability concerns mean he will have to use a driver, Misaki (T?ko Miura).

She’s an excellent driver and there is a reason, which is one of the many story elements revealed over the course of the film. She and Yusuke grow closer, which you might expect. And yet it happens in ways that you won’t.

Meanwhile, Yusuke works on his play. He’s cast a disgraced TV actor, Takatsuki (Masaki Okada), despite his being too young for the part. (In fact, Takatsuki objects.) Here again, there is a reason why Yusuke casts him, and a reason Takatsuki wanted to be in the play. They share a link only one of them knows about.

Nishijima and Miura have a genuine chemistry as they share the car

The underlying current of artistic creation runs throughout the film. Yusuke is a demanding director, and mixing the languages and cultures of his actors is a tricky business. Hamaguchi threads bits of the play through the story outside the theater. This could have been disastrous, but his choices are perfect, illuminating the story without it seeming like a cheap trick.

Yusuke’s car, old but well kept, is his refuge, though now he must share it. It’s also the setting for some of the most important developments in the film, a place where truths are revealed, as well as a literal vehicle for escape and confession. Nishijima and Miura are so good together, their gradual thawing toward each other so genuine, it becomes a refuge for the audience, as well.

All of this unfolds patiently; some might say slowly. Some might say too slowly. But the payoffs — one big one involves Yoo-rim, just a stunning bit of performance — are worth it. It’s like a long drive with beautiful scenery, of which there is a fair amount.

With “Drive My Car,” the journey is as satisfying as the destination. It’s great.

'Drive My Car' 5 stars

Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★

Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★

Director: Ry?suke Hamaguchi.

Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, T?ko Miura, Reika Kirishima.

Rating: Not rated.

Note: In theaters Jan. 21.

Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected]. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Drive My Car' mixes life, love, loss and creation. It's a great film