Four young adults spend a lazy summer vacation by the sea in this character-driven drama by director Hiroshi Okuhara. Ken (Kensaku Watanabe) works the night-shift as a receptionist at a hotel; Mika (Chiharu Kono), his former lover, has moved on, and is busy renovating a house while working as a petrol station attendant. Yuka (Asako Kobayashi) arrives on vacation and soon falls for Ken; later becoming friends with Mika as the three of them navigate the dying days of the summer break. Their peace is interrupted with the arrival of the shady Tatsu (Tatsushi Omori), strapped for cash he calls on his former friend Ken, who we learn has served time in prison but has left his criminal past behind.
“Nami” is a slow-paced human drama that gives the feeling of hanging out and getting to know the four main characters. The biggest problem is that there is not enough to many of the characters to justify the time spent with them. Kensaku Watanabe has the largest role as Ken, with a dark past and his attempts to rekindle his romance with Mika, his relationships with Yuka and Tatsu forming the heart of the drama. However, we learn little about the other characters. The performances are understated and the dialogue realistic with meandering conversations and back-and-forth discussions that provide little in the way of momentum. The late inclusion of a plot by Tatsu to get the money he desperately needs by resorting to violence seems out of place amidst the languid, inconsequential drama that precedes it. The characters fall in and out of relationships in an apathetic stupor, having little in the way of emotional reaction to anything that happens around them. The film perfectly captures this anomic malaise of a generation who seem to be adrift without dreams or aspiration; but it leaves you with the impression of being trapped in a waiting room with people lacking in charisma or personality.
“Nami” is a tough watch, lacking plot or formal structure, with set-ups that do not lead to conventional pay-offs, and characters who seem as disinterested in each other as they do in achieving anything of consequence. The film-making itself is not bad, capturing the setting of a sleepy seaside resort at the end of the holiday season perfectly. If you are content with vibe over plot, atmosphere over narrative, then you may find something to enjoy here. But it is a film that takes too long to say very little.
