“Desert of Namibia”: Yamanaka Yôko, the young prodigy of Japanese cinema, keeps her promises

Yamanaka Yôko was 20 years old when she made her debut in independent cinema. In 2024, she seduces critics with her latest film, Desert of Namibia which explores the dark side of a young woman entering adulthood in Japan. Let’s take a look at the film and its star, Kawai Yuumi.

Birth of a star director

Japanese cinema fans know Kawai Yuumi well, who has been at the top of the bill and has been talked about since 2022. The same cannot be said of Yamanaka Yôko, the director of Desert of Namibiareleased in 2024 where the young premiere plays.

With Desert of NamibiaYamanaka Yôko signs her real first feature film. It comes out seven years later To me(2017) which Yamanaka produced herself and which was praised around the world. Just six months after her baccalaureate, Yamanaka, then aged 19, wrote her first screenplay. Without worrying about her inexperience, she spent six months putting together a team, casting, shooting and editing her film.

Yamanaka was only 20 years old when To me is selected for the Pia Japanese Film Festival, a competition rewarding independent films and which often serves as a launching pad for young directors.

Filmed at such a breakneck pace as its production schedule was abrupt, To me ultimately won two awards at the Festival: the audience prize and the Hikari TV prize. However, this last prize crowns films that have made innovative use of the latest technologies and original modes of expression, “going beyond the box”.

WhileTo me is gaining a reputation abroad, critics around the world are welcoming Yamanaka, who is the youngest director to ever participate in the Berlinale Forum, one of the largest film festivals in the world. Sakamoto Ryûichi, the late composer, who was able to view the film in New York, said he was greatly impressed, he said he looked forward to discovering the young director’s next works.

The singularity, strength and passion of independent filmmakers often disappear if they make a first commercially oriented film with a professional crew and cast. But none of this for Desert of Namibia. By moving into the big leagues, the director has lost none of her passion. After the world premiere screening at the Filmmakers’ Fortnight of the 77^e edition of the Cannes International Film Festival in early 2024, his film won the Critics’ Prize (Fipresci Prize).

After Kurosawa Kiyoshi for Pulse and Hamaguchi Ryûsuke for Drive My Carshe is the sixth Japanese filmmaker to win the prestigious critics’ prize. At 27, Yamanaka is the youngest director to win this award. The Japanese film industry has finally found its enfant terrible of the camera.

A new trendy cinema heroine

The director and the main actress share the story of a very beautiful meeting. Seven years ago, Yamanaka received a letter from Kawai who was then in her last year of high school, the young girl wrote to him about how To me made her want to become an actress, she told him how much she would like to play one day in one of his films. The rise of the young actress has certainly influenced her, Yamanaka has seen her gain experience and confidence year after year. With Desert of Namibia the dream came true.

Yamanaka wrote his new opus with Kawai in mind. When the project took shape, the two women understood how much alchemy took place; a new format for a film heroine was born quite naturally from their artistic partnership.

The main character is a 21-year-old young woman named Kana (Kawai Yuumi). We find her in a café because one of her friends wanted to talk to her about a serious subject. Pensive, Kana lets herself be distracted by the voices around her. Indifferent to the fate of her friend, she is not at all attentive, but her interlocutor nevertheless finishes telling her her whole story.

When the time comes to say goodbye, her friend tells her she doesn’t want to be alone. Kana, who doesn’t have the heart to let her down, takes her to a club where young men offer their services. But Kana quickly leaves the scene. She leaves her friend behind because she has a meeting with a young man who is waiting for her not far away.

It’s a budding affair, Kana and Hayashi (Kaneko Daichi) have a good time and then go their separate ways. Kana then returns to her boyfriend Honda (Satô Kan’ichirô). In the morning, the magic of the previous night has dissipated, Kana goes to work on her bicycle, puffing on a small cigarette. She works in a beauty salon specializing in hair removal. Faithful to her usual routine, she exchanges small talk with her customers. The day ends soon.

Honda (Satô Kan'ichirô), Kana's boyfriend, tells her about his business trip. (© 2024 Desert of Namibia Production Committee)
Honda (Satô Kan’ichirô), Kana’s boyfriend, tells her about his business trip. (© 2024 Desert of Namibia Production Committee)

An oasis and its fountain, about to overflow

The first twenty minutes of introduction are enough to captivate the audience who are already enjoying Kana’s every move. Over the course of life’s twists and turns, we see our relationships evolve. The rest of the film is full of suspense, but the vagaries of everyday life eat Kana psychologically from the inside. The lovers are constantly at odds with the world around them that threatens their time and space. Kana goes out and mixes with the others but she feels bombarded with words, gestures and looks that she struggles to make sense of. If she looks closely, she sees signs of depravity all around her. The more we discover the young woman’s inner core, the more we see a subtle logic emerge between events apparently unrelated to each other. In Desert of NamibiaYamanaka describes to us with finesse the evolution of the emotional landscape of his character.

The meaning of the film’s dialogue is rarely easy to grasp. Like everything we say to each other on a daily basis, the repartees have no other function than to push the interlocutor to react. For Kana, these interactions are just a way to pass the time. His emotions, blurry and as if suspended in the air, end up exploding and degenerating into violence.

In Desert of Namibiathe emotional range is exceptionally rich and many other films seem mediocre in comparison. These affects which cannot pass through tears, smiles or cries, remain constantly swirling in hearts. Through his masterful use of simple dialogue, his attention to facial expressions and his mastery of the camera, Yamanaka makes the audience feel this complexity and shows us its slightest fluctuations.

The narration allows the audience to penetrate the depths of Kana’s heart, even if we feel a little pushback when her inimitable sense of humor comes into play. The film distances and explodes the shackles of modern Japanese society. It’s so refreshing that many will call it the best coming-of-age movie in ages. Original and mysterious, it has the power to move crowds. The arrival of Yamanaka Yôko and Kawai Yuumi in the world of Japanese cinema is a gift, their two talents dissect and illuminate modern society like never before.

The movie

Trailer

Tags TV Cannes

Birth of a star director

A new trendy cinema heroine

An oasis and its fountain, about to overflow

The movie

Trailer

Related posts