Drive My Car

Japan's film industry has struggled through ups and downs since the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. At times, movies like Ran (1985), ...

Much fuss has been made in recent years about the dominance of South Korean popular music and cinema in opposition to Japanese popular culture. But Hamaguchi doesn’t rely on the major film production conglomerates and doesn’t represent the standard world of Japanese cinema. It also has the chance to change Japanese cinema forever if the industry decides to grow. Meanwhile, film production committees in Japan hold to a narrow vision of the domestic market without looking to appeal to the outside world. Japan’s film industry has struggled through ups and downs since the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Erina Ito, a journalist and member of the Japanese Film Project, a nonprofit that researches and makes proposals to resolve issues with labor and gender inequality in the Japanese film industry, said that the nomination comes from both the talent of Hamaguchi and the great history of Japanese movies that made his works possible. But even just two years ago, Japanese commentators were staunchly pessimistic about Japan’s chances of producing an international hit like Parasite. Unlike Japan, South Korea has invested aggressively in its film and entertainment industries in the past few decades. Meanwhile, film production committees in Japan hold to a narrow vision of the domestic market without looking to appeal to the outside world. Japan’s film industry has struggled through ups and downs since the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. And though the betting odds are against it, a win for the Japanese film could be just as revolutionary. Now with 10 best picture nominees instead of five, and several trailblazing Asian award winners on the books, including Chloe Zhao winning best director and Youn Yuh-jung winning an acting Oscar last year, a precedent has been set for Asian and Asian American nominees on the ballot at the Academy Awards, and for them winning. And though the betting odds are against it, a win for the Japanese film could be just as revolutionary.