Desert of Namibia
{{Short description|2024 film by Yôko Yamanaka}}
{{Infobox film
| name =
| image = Desert of Namibia.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module|ja|ナミビアの砂漠}}
| director = Yôko Yamanaka
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Keisuke Konishi
- Shinji Ogawa
- Masashi Yamada
- Tokushi Suzuki}}
| writer = Yoko Yamanaka
| starring = {{plainlist|
| music = Takuma Watanabe
| cinematography = Shin Yonekura
| editing = Banri Nagase
| studio = Happinet Phantom Studios
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2024|5|17|Cannes}}
| runtime = 137 minutes
| country = Japan
| language = Japanese
| budget =
| gross = $27,915{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2932244481/weekend/|title=Desert of Namibia|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=May 18, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Desert-of-Namibia-(2024-Japan)#tab=summary|title=Desert of Namibia|website=The Numbers|access-date=May 18, 2025}}
}}
Desert of Namibia ({{langx|ja|ナミビアの砂漠}}) is a 2024 psychological drama film directed and written by Yôko 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
A young directionless woman tries to find herself while working as a beautician and navigating a new relationship.{{cite web|url=https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-do-in-paris/cinema-series/articles/312272-desert-of-namibia-yoko-yamanaka-explores-the-existential-quest-of-a-young-japanese-woman|title=Desert of Namibia - Yoko Yamanaka explores the existential quest of a young Japanese woman|work=Sortiraparis|date=22 October 2024|accessdate=12 May 2025|author=Julie}}
Cast
- Yuumi Kawai as Kana
- Daichi Kaneko as Hayashi
- Kanichiro as Honda
- Yuzumi Shintani as Ichika
- Keisuke Horibe as Koichiro
- Makiko Watanabe as Mari
Release
Desert of Namibia had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2024 in the Directors' Fortnight section.{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/features/cannes-2024-line-up-guide-directors-fortnight-titles/5193157.article|title=Cannes 2024 line-up guide: Directors' Fortnight titles|work=Screen International|date=9 May 2024|accessdate=12 May 2025|archive-date=14 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214163458/https://www.screendaily.com/features/cannes-2024-line-up-guide-directors-fortnight-titles/5193157.article|url-status=live}} It won the FIPRESCI Prize at the festival and the director Yoko Yamanaka became the youngest woman to win the award.{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2024/05/26/film/yamanaka-film-wins-cannes-award/|title=Director Yoko Yamanaka's film wins critics award at Cannes|work=The Japan Times|accessdate=12 May 2025|date=26 May 2024|archive-date=9 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209131149/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2024/05/26/film/yamanaka-film-wins-cannes-award/|url-status=live}}
In November 2024, it was reported that Kani Releasing acquired the film's North American rights.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2024/11/kani-releasing-desert-of-namibia-yuumi-kawai-happinet-1236164180/|title=Kani Releasing Acquires North America Rights To Japanese Cannes Directors' Fortnight Title 'Desert Of Namibia'|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=1 November 2024|accessdate=12 May 2025|first=Liz|last=Shackleton}}
Reception
Siddhant Adlakha of Variety described the film as "an intentionally languid psychological portrait".{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/desert-of-namibia-review-1236016972/|title='Desert of Namibia' Review: A Meandering Chronicle of a Listless Japanese Zoomer|work=Variety|date=27 May 2024|accessdate=14 May 2025|first=Siddhant|last=Adlakha}} 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".{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/desert-of-namibia-review-yamanaka-yoko/|title='Desert of Namibia' Review: Yamanaka Yoko's Tentative Portrait of Gen Z Disaffection|work=Slant Magazine|first=William|last=Repass|date=11 May 2025|accessdate=14 May 2025}} Mark Schilling of The Japan Times gave the film three out of five stars and described Kawai's performance as "masterful and multilayered".{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2024/09/05/film/desert-of-namibia/|title='Desert of Namibia' makes its difficult protagonist hard to hate|work=The Japan Times|date=5 September 2024|accessdate=14 May 2025|first=Mark|last=Schilling}}
Writing for Screen International, Fionnuala Halligan gave the film a mixed review and criticized the vague reference to mental health issues.{{cite web|url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/desert-of-namibia-cannes-review/5193708.article|title='Desert Of Namibia': Cannes Review|work=Screen International|first=Fionnuala|last=Halligan|date=18 May 2024|accessdate=14 May 2025}}
=Accolades=
Notes
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References
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