Director Yamanaka Yoko was invited to the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival with her debut work Amiko (2017), which she made at the age of 20. The lead actress, Kawai Yuumi, says that meeting Yamanaka Yoko after watching Amiko as a teenager was her first experience of conversing with a film director. Kawai Yuumi later appeared in It’s a Summer Film (2020), A Balance (2020), Plan 75 (2022), and finally reunited with Yamanaka Yoko in Desert of Namibia. It’s an impressive work that requires a special trust relationship between the director and the actress, featuring performances that expose everything about herself without defense. 21-year-old Kana appears to be a young woman living without much thought. She doesn’t have any ambitions for the future, her affection for her boyfriend is questionable, and she doesn’t seem satisfied with her current job. She is not someone who would easily win over many people, as she sometimes erupts into hysteria, as if she has built up anger inside. The charm of Desert of Namibia lies in examining her closely, even more closely, and finding commonalities between her and us. The film is a good example of character exploration that can’t be guessed easily. (NAM Dong-chul)