Desert of Namibia

Kana's emotional detachment from Chiaki's death reflects her broader pattern of disconnection from others and her own emotions. The film establishes early on that she struggles to feel genuine emotional responses, which later becomes clearer when she discusses her history of childhood trauma and abuse. Her apparent indifference is not cruelty but a defense mechanism stemming from her unstable mental state.

This emotional numbness foreshadows Kana's later revelation about her father's abuse and her ongoing struggles with mental health.

The ultrasound photo suggests Hayashi had a relationship with a woman who became pregnant, but he either left her or the pregnancy ended unsuccessfully. When Kana confronts him about the baby, Hayashi claims he forgot the details and cannot identify the mother, which suggests either deliberate avoidance or genuine emotional repression about a painful memory. His screenplay about a jobless man raising an abandoned baby appears to be his way of processing this unresolved guilt.

The screenplay mirrors the ambiguous circumstances surrounding the ultrasound photo, hinting that Hayashi's creative work reflects his real-life regrets.

Kana's simultaneous relationships with Honda and Hayashi reflect her fear of commitment and emotional intimacy. She lives with Honda but continues seeing Hayashi, and when Hayashi asks her to leave Honda, she seems ready to comply. This arrangement appears to be Kana's way of avoiding true vulnerability, keeping multiple partners ensures she never has to fully invest in one person and face potential abandonment or hurt.

Kana's pattern of emotional avoidance becomes clearer through her broader behavior, including her inability to process grief and her traumatic history.

During a video consultation, a male physician suggests Kana may have bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder based on her emotional volatility, impulsive behavior, and unstable relationships. A female physician at a cheaper clinic later listens to Kana's history, including her childhood abuse, confirming the complexity of her psychological state. Her dramatic mood shifts, impulsive actions like storming out and falling down stairs, and difficulty maintaining relationships align with these potential diagnoses.

The diagnosis hints at why Kana behaves so erratically throughout the film, from her twin relationships to her sudden outbursts.

When Kana reveals to the female physician that her father was a pedophile who abused her, she still expresses a belief in honoring him through forgiveness. This contradictory stance reflects the complex psychological aftermath of childhood abuse, victims often struggle with conflicting feelings of anger, love, loyalty, and guilt. The physician wisely suggests Kana should voice her true feelings when alone, acknowledging how difficult it is to reconcile private trauma with public beliefs about family obligation.

This revelation provides context for Kana's emotional numbness, fear of intimacy, and pattern of seeking unstable relationships.

Kana storms out after becoming frustrated that Hayashi delays eating to work on his project. This seemingly minor trigger unleashes a disproportionate emotional response, her tantrum leads her to leave the apartment, where she falls down a flight of stairs and suffers serious injuries. This incident demonstrates her impulsivity and inability to regulate emotions, characteristic of her underlying psychological condition. Hayashi nurses her back to health, but the moment underscores the volatility of their relationship.

This outburst exemplifies Kana's pattern of emotionally reactive behavior that continues throughout the film.

When Honda unexpectedly confronts Kana about what happened during her injury, she accepts a ride but then bolts from the car. Honda pursues her on foot but collapses, a puzzling moment that Kana finds almost laughable. The film does not explicitly explain the collapse, but it could suggest Honda is ill, exhausted from the chase, or overwhelmed by the emotional situation. This odd moment further emphasizes the dysfunction in Kana's relationships and her tendency to flee from anyone trying to get close.

Honda's collapse remains ambiguous, reflecting the unresolved nature of many relationships in Kana's life.

Hayashi is writing a screenplay about a jobless man who raises an abandoned baby. Kana's discovery of the ultrasound photo suggests this story is connected to his past, he may be processing guilt about abandoning a pregnant partner or a child. When Kana asks if he is seeking atonement, Hayashi seems unsure himself, indicating his creative work may be an unconscious attempt to work through unresolved feelings about responsibility and parenthood.

The screenplay directly parallels the ultrasound photo mystery, suggesting Hayashi's creative project reflects his real emotional burden.

The neighbor appears multiple times throughout the film, first seen reciting English words, then sharing a balcony glance with Kana, and finally bonding with her around a campfire. The English learning motif suggests themes of communication, isolation, and the difficulty of expressing inner states in a language one knows well. Kana's cryptic comment that the neighbor knows 'all about them' adds mystery, though the neighbor's role remains ambiguous, perhaps representing another form of disconnection similar to Kana's own emotional isolation.

The neighbor serves as a mirror to Kana's own struggles with expression and connection.

Kana reveals she was fired after advising a customer to pursue medical treatment instead of cosmetic care at the beauty salon. This decision reflects Kana's growing disillusionment with the superficial nature of her work and the beauty industry's emphasis on appearance over health. Her firing marks a turning point where she begins rejecting societal expectations placed on young women, aligning with her earlier frustration about the limited roles available to her.

This event catalyzes Kana's declaration that she will stop acting and her increasingly assertive stance.

Kana and Hayashi join a video call with Kana's Chinese relatives for a dinner scene. Her limited Chinese comprehension creates awkwardness, especially since her mother is absent from the table. When she struggles to translate a phrase, Hayashi surprisingly repeats it himself, and the moment dissolves into a shared, tender smile, the first genuine connection they have in weeks. This scene represents a rare moment of vulnerability and connection between them, though the film leaves their future uncertain.

This tender moment offers a brief glimpse of hope, though the film's ambiguous ending suggests the struggle continues.

The film never explains why Chiaki, Kana's former classmate, took his own life. Ichika reveals the news at the café, noting the reasons remain unclear. This ambiguity serves the film's thematic focus on disconnection, Kana cannot emotionally engage with Chiaki's death partly because there is no clear narrative to process. The unexplained suicide also reflects real-life tragedies where the causes of such acts remain mysterious, adding to the film's melancholic tone.

Chiaki's unexplained suicide parallels other unresolved mysteries in the film, including the ultrasound photo and Kana's own emotional state.