"Namibian Desert" Heroine Discovered in the Crowd

Synopsis of "The Namibian Desert"

The world and life are boring. 21-year-old Kana lives every day with feelings that she has no outlet for. She switches from the kind but boring Honda to the confident and stimulating Hayashi and starts a new life, but gradually Kana finds herself cornered. Struggling and clashing, will she be able to find her place in the world?

Index

• Heroine in the crowd
• Ecological observation and virtual "journeys"
• Surviving anesthesia

Heroine in the crowd

"The goal going forward is survival."

A long shot of the passage in front of Machida Station. As the camera zooms in, we "discover" the unique heroine Kana (Kawai Yumi) in the middle of the crowd. Kana's rough walking style makes her seem more like a boy than a girl. She has an appointment to meet a classmate (Shintani Yuzumi) at a cafe. Over the first few scenes, which move from the daytime cafe scene to the chaos of the city at night, we learn what kind of gazes Kana is surrounded by on a daily basis.

When a friend suddenly tells Kana about the suicide of a classmate, she can't immediately remember which one he is referring to. At a table nearby them, a group of young men are getting excited talking about brothels. These insensitive men are making obscene remarks so the other customers can hear them. The two head out into the night, but soon part ways. Kana is standing alone on the street when a scout from a brothel starts to harass her, using vulgar language. Kana loses her temper as the scout relentlessly pursues her. This series of scenes depicts, like a Inferno scene, the negative aspects of the gaze that young women are subjected to.

"The Namibian Desert" ©2024 "The Namibian Desert" Production Committee

Kana drinks from a bottle. Kana vomits out the window of a moving taxi. Kana goes back and forth between her two boyfriends. She literally wanders the streets aimlessly. Kana spews her completely disorganized emotions out into the world without sorting them out. Kawai Yumi, who plays Kana, has something like a fresh skin smell. That is what makes her so amazing. An unpleasant scent that is a mix of alcohol, vomit and the smell of skin. Kana is a character who even resorts to violence. But this heroine is simply the best. Kana = Kawai Yumi's existence goes beyond "righteousness."

The camera captures Kana's delicate arms as she holds a bottle of wine in a park at night. Her thin, white arms illuminated by the streetlights make my heart ache. "My goal from now on is to survive." "The Namibian Desert" (24) continues to simply record the "lifestyle" and "survival" of Kana = Yumi Kawai. That is what this film is all about, and that is why it is so wonderful.

Ecological observation and virtual "journeys"