©Courtesy of Kani Releasing

Desert of Namibia : 21-year-old Satsuki swaps boyfriends frequently, unconcerned with career or societal norms. Her unpredictable behavior leads to a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder, as she navigates a rigid, patriarchal society.

©Courtesy of Kani Releasing

 

Exclusive Interview with Writer/ Director Yoko Yamanaka

 

 

Q : After making your first movie “Amiko”, you’ve been involved in a few films such as “21st Century Girls “(21 Seiki no one no ko)’, ‘Anytime, Anywhere’ (Kaitenko and Dorimu Mom-Chan), and “Uoza-dôshi”. It has been 7 years since your latest film, ‘Desert of Namibia’. The second feature film seems to be taking a lot longer than anticipated. Have there been any changes in your values or approach to film during this time?

Yoko Yamakana : “Amiko” was an independent film, so I learned everything without attending college (She dropped out of Nihon University), and I had no knowledge of what I was doing. In the past, directors, regardless of where they came from, were essentially self-righteous. I believe they were willing to do anything to produce a beautiful movie, rather than having the same sense of human rights for the cast and crew as they do now.

The idea of not compromise and shooting dozens of takes for the perfect shot is evident in the books and statements of old filmmakers. Despite being a novice, I had this idea within me naturally, and even though I was technically an amateur, I wouldn’t say I did all the shots in “Amiko“. But when shooting, it was difficult in terms of time, but sometimes I took about 20 or 30 takes.

Q : You were filming like a Kubrick.

Yoko Yamanaka: It was like attempting to duplicate only the aspiration. In the end, I had no idea what I was doing, so I simply copied what I saw. As soon as I saw all the takes, including the edited ones, I realized that the first take was superior.

I had the impression during those seven years that the way of thinking, in which the director acts like a dictator and asks the crew and cast to follow his vision, “doesn’t really suit me either,” so my approach to the pictures (images) that I want on set has changed in a way that is quite the opposite.

I am currently considering how to execute two or three takes, and I have begun to consider communicating with the staff and cast beforehand to avoid any additional work for everyone on the set.

Q : Speaking of Kubrick, at the beginning of the movie, there is a zoom-in shot that is long and wide, similar to Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon”, which was intriguing to me. I heard that this film is strongly influenced by the work of Japanese author Hitomi Kanehara. What is it about her works that you find appealing and how does it come across in this film?

Yoko Yamanak : Ms. Kanehara’s novels were the source of my clear influenced by the movie ‘Desert of Namibia’ and her work ‘Flirty’ (‘Keihaku’), as well as her early works ‘Auto Fiction’, ‘Ash Baby’, and ‘Hoshi e Ochiru’. I particularly influenced by the triangle relationship in ‘Flirty’ (‘Keihaku’) during my reading of her novels. I had a feeling that there was a truth within them that could not be confined by the perpetrator or victim, but only by the victims themselves. I believe that this is the primary influence of the “Desert of Namibia”.

Q : When watching Ms. Kawai’s performance, I found it surprising that I could sense a difference in her vocal tone and voice from scene to scene, in different locations, and when she was in front of people. I heard that you wrote the script with Ms. Kawai in mind. What was it about her that made you find her attractive when you started writing the script?

Yoko Yamanaka: Yes, that’s right. By the time I cast her, I had already seen almost all of Ms. Kawai’s work, and she had already appeared in several movies and dramas, even though she hadn’t starred in any at that time.Despite being in only one scene in many films, she would always draw attention to herself to the point where people would wonder about her background.

In relation to her situation, I believed that she was able to comfortably remain in the film industry. Despite the fact that I had always considered her to be unique, I found that when I made her the leading actress, she became someone I wanted to watch all the time, and the leading role that I could watch all the time.

©Courtesy of Kani Releasing

Q: Kana, played by Yumi Kawai, Kana does not have any particular passion or goal, but she seems to live her life with a sense of importance. While the main character in the script may be a projection of yourself to some extent, is there any part of you that closely resembles Kana? Did the filmmaking process for ‘Amiko’ lead to any significant changes in your values, views, or sensibilities?

Yoko Yamanaka: I’m not sure if my sense of self has changed since ‘Amiko’ and if it has had an impact on my work or not. When I was thinking about Kana’s character, I was also contemplating the fact that Tokyo, a city with an overwhelming amount of information and population compared to any other city in the world, being a 20-year-old on her own for a brief period of time can be a fast-paced time, and I felt it was necessary to be aware of my feelings and sensations at that time. As I looked back, I realized that it was a lot of work for me to recognize my own emotions and sensations at each moment

I felt as if my daily life was pressing on me with no time to look at or reflect on my feelings at that time, and if I neglected those feelings and emotions, then by the time I was in my late 20s, around the time I started writing this “Desert of Namibia,” I felt like I had a lot of trouble facing my feelings at that time. I was composing the script while contemplating that sensation. So I was thinking, ‘There were feelings and sensations I wanted to cherish more back then.’

Q : The use of wide shots, zoom shots, and handheld camera scenes in this film made the audience feel immersed in the main character’s values and sensations, imagining their own experiences. What were the specific cuts you made when shooting the film?

Yoko Yamanaka: Well, in the latter half of the film, I think Kana starts to think that she wants to understand herself, and that’s what we were trying to capture in the first half of the film.

In the first half of the film, when Kana is acting and letting her feelings and impulses take over, her body moves a lot, and she moves around a lot, so when capturing that, I decided to use a hand-held camera because I wanted to be highly mobile and quickly finish shooting.

Increasing the angle of view in the latter half of the film helped Kana gain a deeper understanding of her inner world, and we finally used a completely pulled-back fix to capture the fight between the two.

I don’t consider sympathy to be a major consideration in any film I make, regardless of whether or not the audience sympathizes with it. I believe that’s why I switched to fixed shooting instead of handheld shooting.

Q: There is a line in the film that says, ‘Japan will end up with a declining birth rate and poverty.’ Was this line perceived as still young by someone who is even younger than you, such as a 20-something or teenager?

Yoko Yamanaka: But the line “The birthrate is declining and poverty is ending” was not actually a line I came up with, but something I heard someone else say. I thought it was a very interesting line, so I used it, but even in the film, it’s hard to tell, but in the cafe scene at the beginning of the film, there are college students talking about shabu-shabu without panty, and they were actually saying that line. Kana heard them saying that line, and she just imitated them, but it wasn’t her own words.

I believe that the younger generation would have felt the same way, but I also believe that those of my generation would have felt the same way about the contents of that line. Even though I’m still in my 20s, I’ve been reflecting on what everyone has said about children in younger generations facing increasingly uncertain situations when it comes to the message to young people. Considering the unstable situation in the world, I was a little worried that more and more people are becoming defensive in their own lives or are not prioritizing their own priorities.

©Courtesy of Kani Releasing

Q : In this film, the character of Honda, played by Kanichiro, is a man who can’t even pick a fight with Kana, and on the other hand, Hayashi is a man who got a woman pregnant and had her abortion in the past, but he doesn’t seem to take any offense. I got the sense that there is a sense of absurdity in this world, and that she is very resistant to that kind of thing. Did you also have a sense of the absurdity and the difficulty of living in today’s society?

Yoko Yamanaka :  Yes, that is already clear. There are many people who say that there are wars and disputes in every age.  Even if they say that, it doesn’t mean that the unreasonableness and difficulty in living that people are feeling today will disappear,

I believe that there is unreasonableness in the world today, and that is why I have consistently thought that there is something wrong with the world, not with Kana.

Q: I don’t know if it was written in the script or not, but there are some scenes in the film that are spontaneous, like the scene where Hayashi and Kana take a piss together, or the fight between them, are there a lot of improvisational parts in the film that were added by the actors Kawai, Kaneko, and Kanichiro?

Yoko Yamanaka :  There are instances where I contemplate small gestures or when the actors generate their own ideas, but in general, I am not fond of improvised lines or ad-libs. But during filming, there were numerous times when I rewrote the script and handed it out.

Q : Participating in the Cannes Film Festival when you were still in your 20s was a very valuable experience, in my opinion. What did you gain from the festival’s marketing and other aspects that you want to incorporate in your future films?

Yoko Yamanaka : Compared to other film festivals, I felt more connected to the market and business aspects of the Cannes Film Festival. From what I heard, the Cannes Film Festival is not meant for audiences, but rather for filmmakers to watch films and learn how to promote them. Of course, I believe that co-production with foreign countries enriches the film industry.

As a filmmaker, I sincerely hope that the producers do their best when it comes to business. (Lol) I don’t believe I am a suitable candidate for being a producer. I don’t believe there will be much change if I continue to make films that are aware of overseas markets.

©Courtesy of Kani Releasing

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