The Award-Winning Actress Poised to Dominate the Japan Academy Awards with Her Enigmatic Acting Style

In “An no Koto” and “Namibia no Sabaku,” the heroines are completely different

“The protagonist An, played by Kawai, is a 21-year-old who has been subjected to violence by her mother since childhood, forced into prostitution as a teenager, and addicted to stimulants. Her tragic life, which ends in suicide after an incident during the COVID-19 pandemic, was portrayed with such intensity and conviction as if Kawai herself were reliving the character’s life. Her performance was so powerful that it can only be described as stunning, opening a new realm where no other actress could follow,” said the aforementioned producer.

However, the potential of actress Yumi Kawai went far beyond that.

In “Namibia no Sabaku,” which was screened at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where director Yoko Yamanaka became the youngest female director to win the FIPRESCI Prize, Kawai played a completely different type of heroine.

“This original film was developed with Yumi Kawai in the lead role. Director Yamanaka, having seen Kawai often cast in roles burdened by the unreasonable demands and oppression of adults, wanted to see her in a role that was self-centered, irresponsible, and reckless, and so they refined the concept,” explained a production company director.

Kana, the heroine, walks through the city, kicking the ground and applying sunscreen. Even when her friend tells her that a classmate had committed suicide, she seems detached. Kana gets distracted by customers talking about “no-pants shabu-shabu” while criticizing paper straws at a café. She abandons her friend, who didn’t want to go home, at a host club and kisses her male friend Hayashi (played by Daichi Kaneko) while drinking red wine in a park at night. She later drunkenly throws up out of a taxi window. Kana, reckless, deceitful, and quick to anger, evokes the heroines of the French New Wave.

Kawai, who demonstrated her acting prowess through two contrasting roles, is said to have a distinctive quality in her performances.

“During her appearance on the program Switch Interview (NHK E-Tele) this January, she had a conversation with director and choreographer MIKIKO. During the interview, MIKIKO praised Kawai’s excellent sense of timing in her acting, to which Kawai responded that timing is something that can’t be planned or thought out—it comes from the feel of the moment. She added that her sense of timing might be influenced by her dance experience. Kawai compared her scenes and lines to music, saying she thinks carefully about when to build to a climax, where to place the chorus, and when to leave space in the song,” said a television program insider.

The dance skills Kawai has developed since elementary school are the “secret ingredient” that enhances her acting.

This year, she will appear in the Asadora (morning drama) Anpan (NHK), playing the sister of the heroine portrayed by Mio Imada. She will also be in the films Warui Natsu (starring Takumi Kitamura) and Kyou no Sora ga Ichiban Suki, to Mada Ienai Boku wa (starring Toshiki Hagiwara), playing opposite the lead actors and continuing to elevate her craft.

What kind of role will she captivate audiences with next time she stars? It’s something we eagerly anticipate.