Umi e, See You
Umi e, See You is a 1988 Japanese auto racing epic film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and written by Sō Kuramoto. It is based on the story Suna no bôkensha by José Giovanni. The plot revolves around the Paris-Dakar Rally, an off-road endurance race spanning 13,000 kilometers and multiple continents. It follows the lives, loves and losses of the competitors of Japan's Team DANKAI during the 1988 competition. Umi e, See You was theatrically released by Toho on May 18, 1988, and stars a multi-national cast with Ken Takakura in the lead role, alongside Junko Sakurada, Philippe Leroy, Nenji Kobayashi and Ayumi Ishida.
This production was Sō Kuramoto's final feature film screenwriting credit for 36 years until the release of Silence of the Sea in 2024.
Plot
With the Paris-Dakar Rally fast approaching, SurfBreak, the sponsor of Mitsubishi's Team DANKAI, adds popular celebrity Ryuichi Yoshii to their roster for publicity. Mizuki, DANKAI's team leader, recognizes the strain this puts on his team, in addition to their general dysfunction and baggage. He also knows it is necessary to have a support vehicle running alongside the team's Pajero rally cars. Thus Mizuki seeks the help of legendary mechanic and driver Eiji Honma. Honma had retired years prior due to the deaths of multiple friends in his dangerous profession. However, Mizuki persuades Honma to come out of retirement one last time and help DANKAI win the race.On January 1, 1988, the rally cars depart Paris en route to Dakar, the capital city of Senegal located on the Cap-Vert peninsula. Honma soon discovers from his old friend and fellow participant Toto Luciano that Honma's ex-wife Kei is also participating in the rally, alongside her current husband, the bullfighter Antonio Vázquez. In addition, Honma's support truck comes to include stowaway passenger Yuko Takei, Yoshii's pop star girlfriend who had followed him from Japan in an attempt to salvage their relationship. Eiji keeps her hidden in the truck during the day and his tent at night, as she does not have a passport.
Over the course of the race, the relationship between the selfish Yoshii and DANKAI begins to sour. While navigating the Sahara Desert, tensions come to a head. A fight breaks out, but Honma mediates the dispute and gets the team back in the race. In this moment, Yuko reveals her presence to Yoshii, but Yoshii yells at her, saying he does not want her there. Later, Yoshii's car breaks down. Mizuki sacrifices parts from his vehicle, forfeiting his role in the race, in order to give Yoshii a chance to finish. The other team members look to Eiji as de facto leader in Mizuki's absence. Meanwhile, Eiji tells Yuko that she cannot continue riding with him. Yuko reluctantly agrees. Eiji asks Toto to send her ahead to Dakar to await their arrival.
Through multiple trials and tribulations, including wrong turns, rough terrain and a sandstorm, Yoshii and the team learn to trust each other, and DANKAI finishes the race. Upon arrival, Yuko greets Yoshii, and Yoshii embraces her. However, Kei and Antonio's car suffers an accident in the West African desert. Eiji arrives to provide assistance, but before he can pull them out, their vehicle explodes, and both perish. Though he has completed the rally, Honma once again becomes a mourner. He erects a cross in the desert using the remains of their vehicle. Toto looks on as Eiji hangs a necklace on the cross, the same necklace Kei had given him years earlier.
Production
Umi e is similar to an earlier Kurahara production, Safari 5000, which was also an epic-length film about a rally raid in Africa.The film was shot in multiple countries, including Japan, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Algeria, Niger, Senegal and various locations in North Africa including the Ténéré desert. Extensive filming took place on location at the actual Paris-Dakar Rally sites. Cinematographers Tsuguzo Matsumae, Kikuma Muneta and Tatsuo Mori assisted with on-location shooting.