The Journey of the Sad Banana

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.

In 1989, Julie Thayer, a wealthy mother from New York City, went to the Swiss Alps to have her ego destroyed. The man she chose for the job was U.G. Krishnamurti, a radical Indian anti-guru who refused followers, refused donations, and told everyone who came to him to go away. Julie stayed — and filmed everything. The Natural State is built from that archive, hundreds of hours unseen for decades, and from the private journals Julie kept as U.G.'s psychological "blasting" carried her from states of ecstasy to the brink of devastation.

A young Belgian woman returns to Japan to gain insight and find peace in her past relationship with her Japanese ex-lover. She travels around Japan, observing nature as the seasons change. She is guided by the richness of the Japanese vocabulary, which has many words to describe the transience of nature and emotions that have no equivalent in Dutch or English. If she can accept this transience, she will be able to understand what happened to their love.

The world went into lockdown and everything stood still. A few students share a house together. Life mostly takes place indoors, yet spring sneaks into their world.