3 Korean actors to attend Academy Awards for roles in Japanese film

Movies

Published: 17 Mar. 2022, 14:24 Updated: 17 Mar. 2022, 14:25

3 Korean actors to attend Academy Awards for roles in Japanese film

A scene from "Drive My Car" [TRIPLE PICTURES]

Actors Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon and Ahn Hwi-tae will attend the upcoming 94th Academy Awards as part of the cast for Oscar-nominated film “Drive My Car” by Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

“Drive My Car” was nominated for four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film became Japan’s first to be nominated for Best Picture.

The film is adapted from a 2014 short story by Haruki Murakami, one of Japan’s renowned authors.

The narrative starts off with the story of a theater actor and director Yusuke Kafuku (played by Hidetoshi Nishijima) and his screenwriter wife Oto (played by Reika Kirishima), who are trying to move on from the death of their young child by telling stories to each other.

Park and Ahn portray the characters of Korean actors Lee Yoo-na and Ryu Jeong-eui who audition for and are casted in the multilingual adaption of Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya,” which Kafuku directs. Jin portrays Gong Yoon-soo, one of the members of the play’s production.

From left, actors Jin Dae-yeon, Park Yu-rim, Ahn Hwi-tae and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi pose for a photo at the 2021 Busan International Film Festival in October. [BIFF]

“Drive My Car” raked in eight awards at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize on May 11, Best Foreign Language Film at the 27th Critics’ Choice Awards on May 13 and Best Film Not in the English Language for the 75th British Academy Film Awards held on the same day. It also won Best Foreign Language Film for the 79th Golden Globe Awards in January.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]