“An Extraordinary Desire” Lonely lost souls cross paths and converge in the new film

In 2009, novelist Ryo Asai won the Shusetsu Subaru Prize (Subaru New Writers Award) for his first novel, Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamirutei Yu (Kirishima Leaves the Club) at the age of twenty. The novel was later made into the movie “Kirishima.” In 2013, his novel Nanimono (Someone) won the prestigious Naoki Prize. (Unusual) Desire is the full-length novel written by Asai to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his career as a writer. The novel was released on the market in March 2021, and it was announced that it would be turned into a film in September 2022.

“(Unusual) Desire” is Asay’s fifth novel to reach the cinema screen. Director Kishi Yoshiyuki and screenwriter Minato Takehiko are collaborating once again on this film, having previously worked together on the 2017 film “The Wild.”

When adapting a 500-page novel into a 134-minute film, it is normal for many parts of the original novel to be deleted. But making the right choice about those omitted parts shows carefully considered consistency. The story revolves around five people, and this film is notable for its ability to focus on their immediate surroundings without getting distracted too far. The novel is often forced to delve into the backgrounds to create a complete picture of each character, even minor ones, in the reader’s mind. In film, in some cases, all it takes is putting them on the screen. A tight balance between these two contradictions can highlight the ideal contrast between characters.

Terai Hiroki (who plays Inagaki Goro) is a prosecutor in the Yokohama District Attorney’s Office © Asai Ryo/Shinchusha 2021; (© Unusual Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

An ensemble drama very appropriate for this era

We review the five main characters in order, starting with Sasaki Yoshimichi, played by Isumura Hayato. His name appears at the beginning of the novel, but he does not take on a pivotal role until the middle. However, he appears in the film from the beginning, working as a corporate employee and appearing as an ineffective, if somewhat absent-minded, person who is clearly lonely. The story begins with his voice sitting eating lunch alone in the company cafeteria. It’s a monologue, but somehow it feels like he’s talking to a close friend.

(Sasaki (Isumura Hayato) feels cut off from the world © Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

Sasaki grew up unable to adapt to a world in which everyone seemed to live normally. He had only one thing to give him hope and comfort, but he could not share his concerns and feelings with anyone else. However, Sasaki manages to live a quiet life with minimal compromises by not expressing his thoughts and avoiding drawing attention to any differences that might set him apart from others. But, one day, he receives a letter that forces him to leave his old home in Yokohama, where he has lived all his life, to return to his hometown of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture.

The second character is Kiryu Natsuki, played by actress Aragaki Yui. Natsuki lives in her family’s home while working at a furniture store in the Fukuyama Shopping Mall. She finds herself rebelling against the forced norm of marriage and having children, which seems to constantly attack her: at work and at home, while listening to the radio in the car, or even during her fleeting encounters with her friends from school. Her only pleasure is sitting alone in her room after work and watching videos about something in particular, which allows her to remember her high school days and indulge in delightful daydreams.

Saori, a pregnant woman who works at another store in the mall, follows Kiryu Natsuki. (Aragaki Yui, (right) © Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

Former SMAP member Inagaki Goro plays Terai Hiroki, a Yokohama city prosecutor who lives with his wife and son, Taiki, an elementary school student. Taiki stopped going to school under the influence of a child YouTube influencer, and now insists that there are other ways to learn than school. Hiroki approaches the problem with logical argument, as befits his profession, but his efforts are in vain when his son starts a YouTube channel with a friend he met at a non-profit event for out-of-school students.

Hiroki lectures his dropout son, Taiki, about the value of school. (© Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

Kanbei Yako, played by actress Higashino Ayaka in her first appearance on screen, is a university student. She serves on the executive committee of the campus festival and plans to turn the university’s beauty pageant and beauty pageant into a festival celebrating cultural and social diversity. Due to a traumatic experience she had in the past, the slightest contact with men causes her to hyperventilate. Although her role is not as large as in the novel, it deeply influences the behavior of the fifth character.

The fifth person is Morohashi Daya, played by actor Sato Kanata. Morohashi studies at the same university as Kanbei and is a member of the dance club. Morohashi becomes more prominent from midway through the story, and he directly challenges the simplistic understanding of “diversity” dictated by society. Despite his reserved demeanor, he addresses the main theme of the story more than any other character by questioning what constitutes “ordinary desire.”

Moruhashi (Sato Kanata) (right) tries to avoid Kanbei Yako (Higashino Ayaka) (© Asai Ryu/Shinchosha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

The pinnacle of loneliness and desire

The story follows a collective narrative style for the five characters, where the main characters are introduced one by one through the events they face at the beginning and middle of the story, which paints us a detailed picture of contemporary Japanese society. Far from the buzzwords that experts repeat such as diversity, inclusion, and empowerment, the reality is What people experience in their daily lives is completely different from these ideal terms. While some people call out these terms, many suffer from life’s difficulties and face its harsh challenges.

In the film, advertisements for English language schools fill taxis, sushi restaurants are packed with those just looking to fill their bellies with food, and couples film TV-style food evaluation videos sit alongside them. Everyone dresses smartly, speaks superficially, criticizes the behavior of others, and is careful not to deviate from what is “normal.”

(Hiroki’s wife, Yumi, relies on Okon, who kindly helps her son broadcast his own videos. © Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

Behind all this, there are people who suffer from loneliness and isolation and cannot express this openly, such as children who drop out of school, or people who are under explicit or implicit pressure to marry and have children, or who hate sex, or who suffer from feelings of guilt for being a minority group. Nationality. These people hide desires that they cannot share with others. “(Unusual) Desire” is the story of these people who suffer from endless loneliness and unbridled desire.

As the story progresses, the five characters grow closer to each other in unexpected ways. Of these five, only Hiroki is the only one free of internal conflict. This is because he firmly believes that the world of law he lives in is the right one, when in reality all he did was ignore his loneliness and desire. Hiroki sees human society as a system and considers anyone outside of this system a “mistake.” As for the other four, they suffer from life’s difficulties because they do not believe they are normal, even as they do their best to survive.

Koshikawa (right), a subordinate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, describes to Hiroki a strange case that happened in the past (© Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Un)Ordinary Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

The audience’s reactions to the words and actions of the five main characters are expected to vary from annoyance to hatred, and from amusement to sympathy. There will be times when you will feel uncomfortable, moments of strong shock, and very emotional scenes. Between the feelings of despair and frustration, you will find wonderful moments of liberation. The only thing that distinguishes the entire film – the script, direction and acting – is the honesty in human feelings, far from exaggeration.

Writer Ryo Asai penetrates the hidden layers of society and stretches his imagination to weave a complex story of “(un)ordinary desire.” The film resists the temptation to adhere to the details of the original novel and achieves authenticity through its commitment to simplicity. At the same time, he excels in presenting cinematic productions in scenes that were not present in the novel. It doesn’t feel like 134 minutes have passed. In fact, the film creates a rare moment where characters and audience seem to communicate silently through the screen.

(© Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)

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(Originally published in Japanese on November 11, 2023, translation from English. Banner image © Asai Ryu/Shinchusha 2021; © (Unusual) Desire Film Production Committee 2023)