What Is The Goddess of 1967 About?
The premise of The Goddess of 1967 in 303 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the sleek, neon‑tinged streets of Tokyo, a young, affluent IT specialist feels an unexpected emptiness despite his polished life. Drawn to the mythic charm of a 1967 Citroën DS—revered by enthusiasts as “the Goddess”—he becomes fixated on acquiring the flawless classic, convinced it might fill the quiet void in his high‑tech world. Leaving behind his pristine apartment and the rhythm of the city, he embarks on a sudden trip to Australia, chasing the promise that the car represents.
Upon arriving in the sun‑baked outskirts of the continent, he encounters BG, a blind young woman caring for a child, whose presence is both enigmatic and unsettling. She hints at a complicated history tied to the car’s elusive owner and suggests that the only way to find the vehicle’s true seller lies far beyond the coastal towns, deep within the stark, endless outback. Their uneasy partnership forms the core of the story, as the businessman’s precise, analytical mindset collides with her sensory, instinct‑driven world.
The film unfolds across a vast, unforgiving landscape where red earth meets endless horizon, contrasting the sleek modernity of the protagonist’s background with the raw, timeless wilderness of the interior. Atmospheric and contemplative, the tone blends quiet tension with moments of unexpected tenderness, as the two travelers navigate both the physical road and the unspoken distances between them. The Citroën itself looms as a symbol of perfection and longing, its presence felt even before it appears.
As they venture deeper into the outback, the journey becomes a canvas for subtle self‑discovery. The juxtaposition of technology and vintage craftsmanship, the silence broken only by the wind and the occasional radio sigh, invites viewers to wonder what each character seeks beyond the surface—whether it is redemption, connection, or simply a sense of belonging in a world that feels both familiar and alien.
What Happens in The Goddess of 1967?
The complete story of The Goddess of 1967, from the first scene to the last, in 621 words (about 3 minutes). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 4 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
JM, Rikiya Kurokawa, is a rich, young IT worker and occasional hacker in Tokyo who becomes obsessed with acquiring a pristine 1967 Citroën DS, known to French car enthusiasts as the Goddess. He lives in a spotless but chilly hi-tech apartment, where the city’s blue-grey smog seems to press in on him as he gathers snorkeling gear and a collection of exotic reptiles, hardly ever speaking to his live-in girlfriend. He believes that this legendary car might fill the hollow spaces in his life.
After a hopeful online search leads him to a perfectly restored example owned by a couple in Australia, JM abandons his job and travels abroad to close the deal, chasing the promise of meaning that the Goddess promises to bring. At the Australian address, he encounters BG, a blind and emotionally unstable young woman, Rose Byrne, who is looking after a young child and explains that the couple never actually owned the Citroën. She recounts a grim history: the husband killed his wife and then took his own life after a money dispute, leaving the car in a precarious limbo. BG tests the car with JM and tells him that its true owner is somewhere in the Outback, a five-day drive away. Driven by the vehicle’s allure, JM agrees, and BG abruptly abandons the child at a service station, instructing the police to locate the girl.
As the two set off into an austere and breathtaking Outback, the film unveils a cascade of flashbacks that reveal the dark traumas shaping their lives. JM’s wealth is traced back to a single, fateful breach: a friend gives him the bank password, a scheme that leads to fortune after the friend is killed in a road accident. This backstory helps explain his attempt to fill an emotional void by possessing something as perfect and powerful as the Goddess, a symbol of control in a world that feels alien to him, almost like Mars in its isolation.
BG’s past is equally harrowing. She reveals a history of sexual assault by a traveling circus boxer and a life shadowed by abuse from her grandfather, and by her mother, Marie, Elise McCredie, who is deeply religious and unstable. Grandpa, Nicholas Hope, a former hippie, wine maker, and opal miner, embodies a philosophy that rejects conventional morality in favor of a rugged, unbound existence. BG’s devotion to a radio obituary notices program, and her fascination with the sound of insects splattering on the windshield—the “sound of death”—color her worldview. Despite being blind, BG carries a pistol and uses it to frightening effect: she fires at two men who pull up near them during the test drive and later uses the gun to silence the radio that delivers those obituary notices.
Unbeknownst to JM, the car is ultimately tied to BG’s grandfather, and she leads him toward the old man not to seal a sale but to confront the past and possibly kill him. Their journey through a world that can be cruel and hostile gradually turns into something more intimate; the bond between them deepens, and JM even teaches BG how to dance, finding a fragile connection amid the chaos. The trip becomes less about ownership and more about healing and understanding.
When BG finally locates her grandfather at a rundown opal mine, she faces a pivotal choice. She had planned to shoot him, but the experience of the road—and the genuine care she begins to feel from JM—convinces her to let go of revenge. The film closes with BG and JM continuing their journey together in the Goddess, having both confronted and come to terms with their pasts, finding a path forward that is not defined by possession but by connection and acceptance.
The Goddess of 1967 Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
13 key events in the order they happen, from “JM's Tokyo quest for the Goddess” to “The journey continues”. 6 events name a place, across 6 locations.
- 1
JM's Tokyo quest for the Goddess
In Tokyo, JM, a wealthy IT worker and occasional hacker, scans the net for a pristine 1967 Citroën DS known as the Goddess. He lives in a spotless, high-tech apartment that feels cold and unfriendly, surrounded by gadgets and exotic reptiles. The car becomes more than a purchase for him: a possible antidote to the emotional emptiness he feels despite his success.
When:Present day Where:Tokyo
- 2
The hunt goes global
After tracing the Goddess to Australia, JM abandons his Tokyo job and flies overseas to seal the deal. The online trail centers on a couple who supposedly own the car, but no one meets him at the airport, leaving him to navigate alone. The pursuit quickly shifts from a simple purchase to a personal journey into a new, unfamiliar country.
When:Flight and arrival Where:Australia
- 3
First encounter with BG
JM arrives at the couple's home in the Australian countryside and meets BG, a blind but emotionally volatile young woman who is minding a child. She reveals the couple never really owned the car, and that the husband killed his wife and then himself after a money dispute. After a test drive, she claims she can take him to the real owner, who is somewhere in the Outback.
Where:Australia (home of the couple)
- 4
A dangerous road to the Outback
BG proposes a five-day journey to locate the car's true owner in the Outback. She abruptly abandons the child at a service station and phones the police to pick her up, warning JM not to trust anyone along the way. The trip into the harsh landscape begins with tension and a shared defiance of their uncertain futures.
Where:Outback roads
- 5
The Outback swallows the travelers
As they press deeper into the brutal Outback, the narrative cuts to flashbacks that illuminate why JM wants the Goddess and how the emptiness in his life arose. A friend gave him a password to a major bank, and that moment of wealth is followed by the friend’s death when he is run over by a truck. These memories hint that the journey is as much about healing as about a car.
- 6
BG's scars and survival
Parallel flashbacks reveal BG's trauma: she was sexually assaulted three years earlier by a traveling circus boxer, who is thwarted by a chastity belt. She escaped into the bush and found protection among wild dingoes. As a child, she also endured abuse from her grandfather, her blood father, while her mother Marie's deeply religious worldview added to the damage.
- 7
The car's true owner is closer than expected
BG reveals that her grandfather owns the Goddess, and that she has been guiding JM toward him not to finalize a sale but to confront the old man. The revelation reframes the trip as a test of trust and a potential act of revenge or redemption. JM realizes the journey is as much about BG's past as his own desire for the car.
- 8
Death on the windshield and the obituary
BG's world centers on a radio obituary notices program, and she is drawn to the insect sounds splattering on the car's windshield, which she calls the sound of death. Despite being blind, she carries a pistol and uses it more than once as danger comes close. The sensory motifs reinforce that sight, sound, and threat shape their journey.
- 9
First violence on the road
During JM's test drive, two sinister men pull up beside the car and BG fires her pistol at them, a stark reminder of the danger that trails them. The moment cements their precarious alliance and the deadly edge of their adventure. It also underlines BG's capacity to act, despite her disability.
- 10
A shared step toward trust and a strange romance
As they endure the relentless landscape, JM teaches BG to dance and the pair gradually become friends and tentative lovers. The act of dancing becomes a fragile bridge between two damaged souls, offering a spark of normalcy amid chaos. Their bond deepens even as the journey remains dangerous and uncertain.
Show the other 3 events of The Goddess of 1967 Hide the last 3 events
- 11
Confronting the grandfather
BG finally finds her grandfather at a rundown opal mine and confronts him. She had planned to shoot him, but as she processes the past and finds genuine care from JM, she chooses not to go through with it. The confrontation marks a turning point in her healing and in their relationship.
Where:Outback opal mine
- 12
A new path forward
With the past reconciled in different ways, BG and JM decide to move forward together rather than apart. They climb back into the Goddess and drive off into the landscape, the car symbolizing a shared future rather than a solitary obsession.
Where:Outback highway
- 13
The journey continues
The film closes with BG and JM traveling off together in the Citroën, having addressed their traumas and found each other, and perhaps a sense that their complicated relationship with the past will continue to shape their lives. The Goddess remains a literal and symbolic vehicle for their healing.
Who Are the Main Characters in The Goddess of 1967?
4 characters, among them JM (Rikiya Kurokawa), B.G. (Rose Byrne) and Grandpa (Nicholas Hope): who each one is and the part they play in the story. Every profile links to the actor’s page.
- J(
JM (Rikiya Kurokawa)
Played by Rikiya Kurokawa
A rich, introverted IT worker and part-time hacker whose fixation on a restored 1967 Citroën DS masks an emotional emptiness. He retreats into possessions and tech, yet his encounter with BG exposes a longing for genuine connection and meaning beyond wealth.
- 💎 Wealth
- 🧠 Tech-savvy
- 🧊 Detached
-
B.G. (Rose Byrne)
Played by Rose Byrne
A blind, emotionally unstable young woman who has endured deeply traumatic abuse. She leads JM toward the Outback under the guise of a sales plot but also protects him with a wary, volatile tenderness. Her resilience and fragile trust drive much of the film's tension.
- 🩸 Trauma
- 👁️ Blind
- 🛡️ Protective
- G(
Grandpa (Nicholas Hope)
Played by Nicholas Hope
A hippie-turned-opal miner and wine maker who lives by his own moral code, free from conventional constraints. His presence is a foil to BG's trauma, embodying a wandering, morally ambiguous outback philosophy and the backstory behind the car's ownership.
- 🎩 Eccentric
- 🪨 Opal Miner
- 🌿 Free-spirited
- M(
Marie (Elise McCredie)
Played by Elise McCredie
BG's mother, disoriented and deeply religious, whose influence and fragile mental state contribute to BG's complex history. She helps shape BG's worldview and her sense of danger and devotion.
- 🙏 Religious
- 🧠 Fragile
- 👩 Mother Figure
Where and When Is The Goddess of 1967 Set?
The Goddess of 1967 is set in Tokyo and Australian Outback (1967). Here is why the time and place matter to the story.
When
1967
The story unfolds in the late 1960s, a time of rapid technological change, car culture, and shifting social mores. The 1967 Citroën DS (Goddess) embodies a blend of elegance and rebellion, signaling JM's search for meaning beyond wealth. The setting uses the era's contrasts—modern urban life and frontier outback—to amplify the characters' emotional journeys.
Where
Tokyo, Australian Outback
Tokyo is depicted as a pristine yet unfriendly hi-tech city shrouded in blue-grey smog, where JM's life unfolds in a sterile apartment. The journey then takes the characters into the Australian Outback, a spectacular but harsh landscape that tests them with its vast emptiness and danger. The contrast between the city and the remote interior frames the film's themes of isolation and pursuit.
- 🏙️ Urban
- 🏜️ Outback
- 🌫️ Smoggy
What Are the Themes of The Goddess of 1967?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Materialism, Trauma and Journey.
-
01
Materialism
JM's obsession with acquiring the exact 1967 Citroën DS is driven by a desire to fill an emotional void left by a bereavement and a hollow life in Tokyo. The car becomes a shiny talisman that promises happiness, only to reveal the emptiness of wealth and status when real relationships are at stake.
-
02
Trauma
BG carries a heavy past of abuse and danger, which shapes her distrust and survivalist behavior. The flashbacks reveal the scars behind her blindness and her ruthless caution, while the journey toward the outback becomes a path toward healing, or at least a chance to be seen.
-
03
Journey
The road trip fuses danger, companionship, and self-discovery as JM and BG navigate harsh landscapes and malevolent strangers. Their evolving bond tests boundaries and expectations, culminating in personal reconciliation and the choice to move forward together rather than toward conquest.
What Kind of Film Is The Goddess of 1967?
Dark in tone, with slow pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Dark
- Pacing
- Slow
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A slow-burning and intensely atmospheric journey through a bleak Australian outback, where two traumatized individuals confront their dark pasts and find a fragile, cathartic connection amid oppressive memories.
- atmospheric
- melancholic
- tense
- traumatic
- isolated
- cathartic
- road trip
- childhood trauma
- sexual abuse
- revenge
Content notes: sexual assault, childhood abuse, incest, suicide, emotional abuse.
Quiz
How well do you remember The Goddess of 1967? Test yourself on the story.
