Desert Moon (2001 film)

Desert Moon
Directed by	Shinji Aoyama
Written by	Shinji Aoyama
Starring	Hiroshi Mikami Maho Toyota Shuji Kashiwabara Yukiko Ikari
Music by	Jim O'Rourke
Cinematography	Masaki Tamura
Edited by	Shinji Aoyama
Release date	June 20, 2001 (France) July 26, 2003 (Japan)
Running time	131 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Desert Moon (月の砂漠, Tsuki no Sabaku^?) is a 2001 Japanese drama film written, directed and edited by Shinji Aoyama, starring Hiroshi Mikami. It was in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.

The film's main theme is the conflict between work and family commitments in modern Japan. It focuses on a successful internet entrepreneur Nagai (Hiroshi Mikami), whose wife Akira (Maho Toyota) and young daughter Kaai (Yukiko Ikari) left him because he neglected them for his business. A young hustler Keechie (Shuji Kashiwabara), who has emotion problems concerning his own father, becomes involved in the family's drama.

Derek Malcolm of Screen International criticized the film, saying: "the problem with the film is that, instead of letting these sequences speak for themselves, it constantly underscores them with speeches that often seem pretentious and clichéd at the same time". David Rooney of Variety praised Masaki Tamura's cinematography, describing it as "graceful, leisurely camerawork and elegant framing".

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