Life: Untitled (2020)
Where the world of female escorts was once looked down upon as a taboo acceptance of immoral acts, society and media alike have changed the narrative around the industry not only acknowledging the layered and complex people who occupy the space, but also reclaiming the industry as a symbol of female empowerment. This conversation is the focus of Kana Yamada's directorial debut Life: Untitled, which is streaming as part of the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival. Following a group of female escorts from Japan, the film not only looks at the growth of the industry but also the continued struggles these women face both in work and their domestic lives.
One of the biggest struggles highlighted within the film is the sacrifices these women are forced to make due to the industry they find themselves in. With a poetic haunting effect, Yamada takes moments with a clearly comedic edge such as one of the women having to sleep with someone who is strange or ugly, only to flip a switch and turn the scene into a tense fight for their lives. Not just physically are their fights, but emotionally also. As seen in the performances from the ensemble cast throughout the film, each woman has to deal with judgment not just from others but themselves. They want to stay respectable in the eyes of everyone yet are forced to deal with the consequences of their work even if the judgments made against them feel unwarranted and problematic. This is only enhanced by the setting of the film being Japanese as it offers a unique and more complex environment for these struggles than what was featured in Hustlers for example. It is easy to root for these characters to find their perfect storybook endings but it becomes apparent rather quickly that those won't be on the horizon. One of the most impressive aspects of the film is how subtle it is regarding this exploration. Where there have been multiple films to conjure large dramatic plots to find similar explorations and ideas, Life: Untitled is remarkably casual and natural with even its most hard-hitting moments carrying a level of casualness quietness which in return, makes the film feel all the more realistic and grounded.
A large reason for this success is clearly that of Kana Yamada herself. Not only did she provide the screenplay for the film but she based it off her own original play. Because of this, Yamada carries an unmatchable understanding of her characters and their interwoven drama. Instead of focusing on one main character, Life: Untitled often bounces between perspectives offering vignettes of each individual and their struggles. It would be incredibly easy for a lesser filmmaker to clutter the shorter 98-minute runtime as it tries to fit everything in, Yamada is able to bring the audience from character to character in a sense than never feels overwhelming or confusing. She clearly had mastered the beats to this story and that level of craft shows. With this said, where the execution of this story design is flawless, it has a deeper fundamental issue to it. The cinematic space is much different than the space used in plays when it comes to investment and the film lacks the pull that is normally achieved with a main narrative. Where there have been films in the past to use this style of filmmaking to great effect such as Reservoir Dogs, that film had at its core a huge event that sucked audiences to the edge of their seats fully investing them in the resulting character drama. Life: Untitled fails to have a similar driving force and because of this, can suffer from feeling as if it is wandering or lacking something for the audience for really chew on for extended sequences.
Where Life: Untitled could have used a stronger main narrative to hold the attention of audiences and overall focus, the lack of one also isn't enough to totally ruin the film and the talent is still clear. Life: Untitled is an undeniable debut for Kana Yamada who right out of the bat shows her talent as both director and screenwriter. It might not be the best of the year, but it is definitely worth the time needed to check it out and will go down as one of the more memorable debuts of the year
Where Life: Untitled could have used a stronger main narrative to hold the attention of audiences and overall focus, the lack of one also isn't enough to totally ruin the film and the talent is still clear. Life: Untitled is an undeniable debut for Kana Yamada who right out of the bat shows her talent as both director and screenwriter. It might not be the best of the year, but it is definitely worth the time needed to check it out and will go down as one of the more memorable debuts of the year