Yusuke Kafuku, an actor and theatre director, loses his wife suddenly. Two years later, he travels to Hiroshima to direct a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya. Festival rules assign him a young driver, Misaki, who he initially resents. Over six weeks of rehearsals and silent car rides, the film discovers what each of them is trying not to say. Adapted from a 40-page Murakami short story into a 179-minute masterpiece.