Desert of Namibia

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Desert of Namibia

May 2025

2h 17m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

92%

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12 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

DESERT OF NAMIBIA follows mercurial 21-year-old Kana (Yuumi Kawai), a hair-removal technician at a salon in Tokyo, who bristles against the beauty expectations placed on women her age. Her erratic mood and default to self-destruct impacts all of her relationships, as moments of levity erupt into violence and optimism simmers to despair. The award-winning Kawai embodies Kana with an emotional intensity and clear-eyed precision that evokes Gena Rowlands in Cassavettes' A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. Yamanaka's sophomore work sculpts a subtle intimacy reminiscent of Pialat's À NOS AMOURS, and masterfully conveys the chaos and disarray of a young woman at odds with the world as much as with herself.

Monica Castillo

RogerEbert.com

May 16

3/4

Yamanaka finds a balance for her complicated character to navigate her tantrums and tender moments.

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Nicolas Rapold

New York Times

May 15

What clinches the portrait is the sure-handed direction and Kana’s organic performance of a daunting character.

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William Repass

Slant Magazine

May 11

2.5/4

The film is so welded to its main character’s perspective that it, too, shies away from understanding, tragic and frustrating in equal measure.

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James Marsh

South China Morning Post

Jul 17

4/5

Desert of Namibia serves up a potent cocktail of adolescent malaise and assertive femininity, and proves an eye-catching breakthrough for 28-year-old writer-director Yoko Yamanaka.

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Derek Chen

Spectrum Culture

May 22

The film’s story is effectively anti-narrative, as it meanders along with the listlessness that its protagonist embodies by dedicating the vast majority of the runtime to scenes of inane boredom, interrupted only by abusive tantrums.

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Dustin Chang

ScreenAnarchy

Mar 30

The dissociation is a dominant feature in the film. With handheld camera work and long takes in tiny spaces, Yamanaka expertly captures the intimacy and suffocation that Kana feels.

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Yoko Yamanaka

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Yumi Kawai

Kana

Keisuke Horibe

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Synopsis

DESERT OF NAMIBIA follows mercurial 21-year-old Kana (Yuumi Kawai), a hair-removal technician at a salon in Tokyo, who bristles against the beauty expectations placed on women her age. Her erratic mood and default to self-destruct impacts all of her relationships, as moments of levity erupt into violence and optimism simmers to despair. The award-winning Kawai embodies Kana with an emotional intensity and clear-eyed precision that evokes Gena Rowlands in Cassavettes' A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. Yamanaka's sophomore work sculpts a subtle intimacy reminiscent of Pialat's À NOS AMOURS, and masterfully conveys the chaos and disarray of a young woman at odds with the world as much as with herself.

Director: Yoko Yamanaka
Producer: Keisuke Konishi, Shinji Ogawa, Masashi Yamada, Tokuji Suzuki
Screenwriter: Yoko Yamanaka
Distributor: Kani Releasing
Production Co: Bridgehead, Cogito Works
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): May 16, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 2h 17m