'Drive' (not the Ryan Gosling one)is SABU's fifth film, coming two years after his most accomplished film up to that point, 'Monday'. With his first two films, 'Dangan Ranna' and 'Postman Blues', being full of ideas, yet inconsistent in execution, does 'Drive' show a director more in control of his films' final delivery?
A salaryman, parked in his car, minding his own business - apart from eyeing-up the piece of totty with the umbrella - suddenly has three bank robbers jump into his car and demand that he follow a fourth robber in another car. What follows is a comedy moment with the criminals demanding their driver speeds up to catch the car in front, though they picked the wrong car.
Asakura is a man that sticks to the rules, having never stepped out of line in his life. Shots of traffic lights turning red and road signs for speed limits flash on screen to show the cause of passengers' anger, as Asakura follows them by the book. Having now lost the car they were pursuing, the three insist Asakura keeps driving as they have now taken him hostage.
Following an amusing moment culminating in a biro to the neck, the four flee the scene, and it's from this point onwards that things get a little bizarre. Arai, Susumu Terajima's Buddhist monk, winds up on stage with a punk band, spouting scriptures to the band's music to a young crowd. This is a very odd scene, feeling very clunky, with Terajima's words just not feeling natural as they come out.
Arai now a filly-fledged member of the band, the remaining trio get back in the car, stopping for food at Asakura's aunt's, before Masanobu Ando's young Makato has car sex with his girlfriend before getting talent spotted with some baseball batting, in what can only be described as an Aston Villa-esque rash decision from the scout.
And then there were two, but not for long: Ren Osugi's Nishi taking his sick daughter home from hospital. Asakura then finds the fourth bank robber they had previously chased, lying on the floor after having got his arm stuck in the ground, having hallucinations throughout the film as he tries to break free. A bizarre fight scene with a samurai ghost, Asakura then returns the money to the bank from which it was originally stolen, minus his expenses for its return, of course.
As you can tell, there are lots of unusual scenes in this film, throwing in strange and rushed conclusions for each character along the way. Again, there are some good ideas on display here, but again they maybe don't completely cohesively work together when trying to make a coherent film. The use of cutaways and flashbacks works well here in building the characters' stories, but things just don't feel as well thought out. 'Drive' is another interesting film from SABU, though a slightly bumpy journey.
A salaryman, parked in his car, minding his own business - apart from eyeing-up the piece of totty with the umbrella - suddenly has three bank robbers jump into his car and demand that he follow a fourth robber in another car. What follows is a comedy moment with the criminals demanding their driver speeds up to catch the car in front, though they picked the wrong car.
Asakura is a man that sticks to the rules, having never stepped out of line in his life. Shots of traffic lights turning red and road signs for speed limits flash on screen to show the cause of passengers' anger, as Asakura follows them by the book. Having now lost the car they were pursuing, the three insist Asakura keeps driving as they have now taken him hostage.
Following an amusing moment culminating in a biro to the neck, the four flee the scene, and it's from this point onwards that things get a little bizarre. Arai, Susumu Terajima's Buddhist monk, winds up on stage with a punk band, spouting scriptures to the band's music to a young crowd. This is a very odd scene, feeling very clunky, with Terajima's words just not feeling natural as they come out.
Arai now a filly-fledged member of the band, the remaining trio get back in the car, stopping for food at Asakura's aunt's, before Masanobu Ando's young Makato has car sex with his girlfriend before getting talent spotted with some baseball batting, in what can only be described as an Aston Villa-esque rash decision from the scout.
And then there were two, but not for long: Ren Osugi's Nishi taking his sick daughter home from hospital. Asakura then finds the fourth bank robber they had previously chased, lying on the floor after having got his arm stuck in the ground, having hallucinations throughout the film as he tries to break free. A bizarre fight scene with a samurai ghost, Asakura then returns the money to the bank from which it was originally stolen, minus his expenses for its return, of course.
As you can tell, there are lots of unusual scenes in this film, throwing in strange and rushed conclusions for each character along the way. Again, there are some good ideas on display here, but again they maybe don't completely cohesively work together when trying to make a coherent film. The use of cutaways and flashbacks works well here in building the characters' stories, but things just don't feel as well thought out. 'Drive' is another interesting film from SABU, though a slightly bumpy journey.