Desert of Namibia
| Desert of Namibia | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Japanese | ナミビアの砂漠 |
| Directed by | Yoko Yamanaka |
| Written by | Yoko Yamanaka |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Shin Yonekura |
| Edited by | Banri Nagase |
| Music by | Takuma Watanabe |
Production company | Happinet Phantom Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 137 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | $27,915[1][2] |
Desert of Namibia (Japanese: ナミビアの砂漠) is a 2024 psychological drama film directed and written by Yoko Yamanaka. It stars Yuumi Kawai, Daichi Kaneko, and Kanichiro. For her performance, Kawai won a Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actress and received nominations at the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards and 18th Asian Film Awards.
The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2024.
Premise
[edit]A young directionless woman tries to find herself while working as a beautician and navigating a new relationship.[3]
Cast
[edit]- Yuumi Kawai as Kana
- Daichi Kaneko as Hayashi
- Kanichiro as Honda
- Yuzumi Shintani as Ichika
- Keisuke Horibe as Koichiro
- Makiko Watanabe as Mari
Release
[edit]Desert of Namibia had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2024 in the Directors' Fortnight section.[4] It won the FIPRESCI Prize at the festival and the director Yoko Yamanaka became the youngest woman to win the award.[5]
In November 2024, it was reported that Kani Releasing acquired the film's North American rights.[6]
Reception
[edit]Siddhant Adlakha of Variety described the film as "an intentionally languid psychological portrait".[7] William Repass of Slant Magazine gave the film two and a half stars out of four and praised Kawai's performance, describing it as "arresting".[8] Mark Schilling of The Japan Times gave the film three out of five stars and described Kawai's performance as "masterful and multilayered".[9]
Writing for Screen International, Fionnuala Halligan gave the film a mixed review and criticized the vague reference to mental health issues.[10]
Accolades
[edit]| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 25 May 2024 | FIPRESCI Prize – Parallel Sections | Yoko Yamanaka | Won | [11] |
| World Film Festival of Bangkok | 17 November 2024 | Lotus Award for Best Film | Won | [12] | |
| Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 30 November 2024 | Best Film | Yoko Yamanaka and Keisuke Konishi | Nominated | [13] |
| Best Performance | Yuumi Kawai | Nominated | |||
| Blue Ribbon Awards | 28 January 2025 | Best Actress | Won[a] | [14] | |
| Mainichi Film Awards | 13 February 2025 | Best Lead Performance | Won[a] | [15] | |
| Asian Film Awards | 16 March 2025 | Best Actress | Nominated | [16] | |
| Best New Director | Yoko Yamanaka | Nominated |
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Desert of Namibia". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ "Desert of Namibia". The Numbers. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
- ^ Julie (22 October 2024). "Desert of Namibia - Yoko Yamanaka explores the existential quest of a young Japanese woman". Sortiraparis. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ "Cannes 2024 line-up guide: Directors' Fortnight titles". Screen International. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ "Director Yoko Yamanaka's film wins critics award at Cannes". The Japan Times. 26 May 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Shackleton, Liz (1 November 2024). "Kani Releasing Acquires North America Rights To Japanese Cannes Directors' Fortnight Title 'Desert Of Namibia'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (27 May 2024). "'Desert of Namibia' Review: A Meandering Chronicle of a Listless Japanese Zoomer". Variety. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Repass, William (11 May 2025). "'Desert of Namibia' Review: Yamanaka Yoko's Tentative Portrait of Gen Z Disaffection". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Schilling, Mark (5 September 2024). "'Desert of Namibia' makes its difficult protagonist hard to hate". The Japan Times. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Halligan, Fionnuala (18 May 2024). "'Desert Of Namibia': Cannes Review". Screen International. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (25 May 2024). "Cannes Awards: Female-Centered Stories Win Big in Cannes, as Sean Baker's 'Anora' Earns Palme d'Or". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Ajanapanya, Nongluck (18 November 2024). "Bangkok Film Festival wraps with awards for world cinema wonders". The Nation. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Rosser, Michael (16 October 2024). "'All We Imagine as Light', 'April' lead Asia Pacific Screen Awards nominations". Screen International. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Cho, Suzie (5 February 2025). "67th Blue Ribbon Awards Announces Winners". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Cho, Suzie (19 February 2025). "79th Mainichi Film Awards Announces Winners". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ Lo, Zabrina (10 January 2025). "Asian Film Awards 2025 nominations: Sean Lau gunning for Best Actor, South Korea's 'Exhuma' selected in 9 categories, and more". Tatler Asia. Archived from the original on 16 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.