Drive My Car.
Photo: Janus Films
What lessons can other filmmakers learn from the success of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car? Is it that programmers need not fear the three-hour run time? Is it that critics really do influence the Oscars? Or is it that naming your movie after a Beatles song is a foolproof cinematic good-luck charm? (The film is based on a short story by Haruki Murakami, whose work makes frequent allusions to the Fab Four.) Hamaguchi’s movie joins a proud lineage of projects that take their titles from the Beatles’ discography, including 1978’s I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love, and 1990’s Misery. Of course, the percentage of films named after a Beatles song pales in…
