The Japanese drama “Drive My Car” has been named the best film of 2021 by the National Society of Film Critics, which met virtually on Saturday to select its annual awards.
The film beat Celine Sciamma’s “Petit Maman,” which finished second, and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which finished third. “Drive My Car” director Ryusuke Hamaguchi won the best-director award over Campion and Sciamma, with the citation also singling out Hamaguchi’s other 2021 film, the anthology drama “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.”
While the NSFC is an organization of critics for U.S. outlets, a sizable majority of the wins went to films not in English, including three of the four acting awards.