West North West depicts the story of young people who have lost a sense of direction in their lives. For them, “empathy” is more important than “understanding.” The film mostly revolves around a lesbian couple, Kei and Ai. Kei works at a cocktail bar, while Ai works as a model. Fearing she′ll be ostracized by society, Kei chooses not to admit her sexual orientation to anyone, and, as a result, she becomes distressed and lonely. One day, Kei gets close to Naima, an Iranian student studying art in Japan. Ai quickly becomes jealous of them and their budding relationship. Kei gradually becomes pessimistic as she thinks about a future with Ai, and Ai worries that she will lose Kei. In the meantime, Naima is having a hard time understanding what Kei wants despite growing closer to her. All three of them are embarrassed and insecure but eventually they begin to share their emotions. West North West portrays the unstable lives of these young people with no direction to go, and Nakamura Takuro expertly captures these turbulent emotions, fragile as glass, in the most delicate way. (KIM Ji-seok)