“Desert of Namibia” is the second full-length movie of Yoko Yamanaka, who, at the age of 20, became the youngest director invited to the Berlin International Film Festival. Her new picture was screened at the 26th Shanghai International Film Festival, and the 78th Cannes Film Festival where it was nominated for the SACD Prize.
Desert of Namibia is screening at Camera Japan
Just like in her debut, “Amiko” (2017), the director decided to focus on the experiences of young woman living in contemporary Japan. Satsuki (Yumi Kawai) is a 21-year-old person working in a beauty parlour. Besides taking care of the customers at her job, she mostly spends her time with either her boyfriend (Sato Kanichiro) or lover (Kaneko Daichi).
The movie does an impressive job introducing the main character. The scene in the cafe, where Satsuki meets with her friend, aptly shows how easily distracted she gets, and how unconcerned she is with usually important and moving topics, such as a suicide committed by a colleague from school. Unfortunately, the story becomes uninteresting and tedious rather quickly as the narrative, similarly to the main character, doesn’t know what it wants to accomplish. Satsuki aimlessly wanders from place to place and tries to fight her boredom, while pushing others away. The movie becomes absorbing again when the director decides to raise the subject of borderline and bipolar disorder. Sadly, this topic occurs too late, and is explored insufficiently, which is surprising considering that the film is definitely not short, as it’s running time is 137 minutes.
Despite all the shortcomings of the picture, Yumi Kawai delivers a solid performance, as a lost and confused person who isn’t concerned with societal norms and other people. Unfortunately, besides being highly emotional and egocentric, her character doesn’t have any significant qualities that would make her at least a little relatable, if not likeable. The same goes for other, quite forgettable characters – it feels that both supporting actors, Sato Kanichiro and Kaneko Daichi, didn’t have the chance to fully present their acting skills. Perhaps it’s the director’s way of showing how shallow and apathetic Satsuki’s understanding of reality is, but it comes off as rather monotonous and unpleasant.
The cinematography by Shin Yonekura underlines the volatile mood of the main character, as some shots are taken with a hand-held camera, with careless zoom ins, and some are slow and steady, and seem meticulously prepared. This aesthetic fits the overall messy atmosphere of the film.
“Desert of Namibia” feels incoherent, chaotic, and aimless. It’s no surprise as it was made in merely a month (apparently two weeks for shooting and two weeks for editing). In an interview, Yamanaka said that “Namibia means ‘there is nothing’ in the words of Namibia. I think that fits this film” and it is difficult to disagree, as there are no elements in the movie that would give the audience “something” to reflect on other than what this picture could be. And, if done with more patience and thoughtfulness, it could have been a meaningful exploration of the life of a person struggling with mental issues.
