BHV17-75: Vol. 116 Nana
Model: Nana Natsume (22)
Studio: Eros
Release Date: 2002-08-01
Runtime: 65 Minutes
Introduction
Production & Setting
Heading into the actual modelling portion of the film, the first scene consists of Nana in a well-lit bedroom shot wearing a denim overall dress and she slowly takes it off. The scene lasts for like two minutes so there isn’t much to it (a recurring theme unfortunately). However, given this is Nana’s first work involving nudity, it’s evident she’s a natural with the poses, although her personality tends to fall on the lesser side of energetic regardless of the scene. The next shoot features Nana fully nude under a mostly translucent white sheet, mixed with the white bed sheets and we are entering the danger zone for a white out, however, they manage to pull back some of the contrast and allow for it to not overpower Nana’s presence in the shots. It’s a nice-looking scene but for a less than two-minute runtime and you can’t really give it too much credit. Moving along it’s scene three, this one feature Nana wearing sheer clothing (except for her panties) while lying on a bed with a floral pattern you’d find at a 3-star hotel from 20 years ago, so it checks out. The lighting is on the brighter side, a balancing act between the natural external light and the brighter wall colors mixing with the sheets. The color gradient is consistent throughout which helps to prevent the scene from being too far on the side of vibrant.
Next sub-two-minute shot has Nana at the beach repping Michigan Sweet Cherries as she gets wet and poses near a familiar rock set piece. There isn’t much to say about this so moving on we get to the longest modelling scene of the entire film; the standard bathtub shot (almost four minutes long!). This setting would be great if there was some direct sunlight coming into the room to bring in some needed greens and yellows from outside as the room is the typical flat white tile, walls, and bathtub. This is also the only set where Nana is more energetic and playful, which does help sell the scene. Some of the shots are excellent as Nana’s stare is something to see, evoking a bygone visual style you don’t see much in modern models. Moving on we now are on opposite part of the bathroom possibly, the evening has set in, evident by the darker blues present outside. This scene sees Nana oiled up and in a sheer mesh one-piece as she works to undress. Some of the face shots are nice but otherwise this is somewhat a boring scene and its curious why some of these shots got a longer runtime than prior sets. The penultimate scene is an outdoor public street shot, so no nudity and aside from some poses on stairs, its mostly very basic glamour shots you’d see on social media today.
The last scene consists of a mixture of BTS interview content at Nana’s hotel room at night and her modelling in a red translucent top and eventually going nude on the bed. The color gradient is warm and filled with yellows, oranges, and reds. A result of yellowish hotel lights, Nana’s attire, and a darker contrast applied to the filming. From here we are in credits land and then into the large BTS segment. Now it is entirely common especially back during these years for an Image Video to be more of a mixture of BTS and sample filmed shoots for a photobook (or similar release). As evident in the BTS portion there are many scenes that are shown that are not in the first portion of this film, evident that they were used for the photoshoot portion specifically. There are several additional interior shots (including the bathroom shot that was used for the cover of the film), and a far more extensive and better beach scene in multiple outfits, which is unfortunate this never made it into the “finished product” portion. Overall, I would say this film is par for the course of early 2000s Image Videos and especially so for newcomers to the industry, where the Image Video is more used as additional promotional or supplementary material to the more professional photoshoot portion. Unfortunately, the lack of a cohesive video portion hurts it within the context of an Image Video, perhaps if the scenes shown were much longer it would have fared better.
Score: 7/10 (Production), 7/10 (Setting)
Music
As was the case with the prior review, the scenes in this film are far too short to lend any substantial impression of the music quality. It does have a saving grace in respect to the presence of music during the interviews and BTS shots (but with appropriate mixing so it wasn’t obnoxious). Moving into the music for the modelling scenes. The first is a nice slow piano piece that compliments the scene nicely. Had the scene been longer and the undressing been more drawn out, this would have been a good scene altogether, but alas, its a teaser clip at best with these runtimes. At least the music fades away and doesn’t have a jarring transition to the next BTS segment. The next track during the public shoot in the busy street is bad, vocal tracks rarely ever suit the shots they are in and thankfully this scene is incredibly short, so I don’t have to listen to it long. Just joking, the next track that accompanies the nice under the sheet’s scene is even worse somehow, with vocals and an offbeat instrumental and some weird reed instrument bit. It fades away after a minute to a much nicer synth piece that is slow and ethereal, much more suited for this scene, unfortunately it is marred by the terrible first track that abruptly transitions into this piece. The following two tracks, one being a lighthearted guitar piece and a much more playful wind-string duet during the bathtub scene are nice, again, hard to judge given the brevity of the content
After this, we are into full on rock concert territory during the oily bathroom scene, but again, 30 seconds in and this aggressive intro is gone, replaced by a slow tempo guitar piece with some interesting synths. Very 2000s in the sound style. I don’t think it works for the most part as there are too many conflicting electronic sounds that disrupt what ideally should have had a more mellow track to mesh with the oily undressing and nighttime vibe of the scene. This again is starkly contrasted with a piano solo for the next couple shoots which are actually pretty good, but there just isn’t enough visual material and runtime to work. The BTS portion after the credits has music interspersed with the talking and that’s a positive because it does feature additional shoots that weren’t included in the “presentation” portion of the film. The beach scene has a very nice guitar piece and is a much more varied and longer scene than the previous one.
Score: 6.5/10
Aesthetics & Performance
Visually this is 2000s style and if you aren’t into that then this film will not be for you. Filming wise there isn’t anything abnormal, and the set pieces themselves are quite par for the course, no pop-music influences here. Nana herself looks great, a classic look which some may have issues with due to the dated hairstyle but that’s more a problem for them young folks that didn’t grow up with this sort of thing. Nana doesn’t have any eye-catching outfits really, that said her denim overalls from her first scene/interview and her mesh one piece later do look good (it’s also the only outfit where you get a glimpse at her bush which is a rarity among early Gravure during these years).
Performance wise Nana gets the stare at the camera perfume commercial look down pat. Given this is her first (at least first that I can confirm) venture into nude works of any sort, she certainly has no issues working with the camera, although the BTS does show she has a little fun with it and has some entertaining moments trying to work with the camera crew. Given there was so little to work with in this review for the modelling scenes specifically, and the mismatch of music styles often present, her performance is hard to gauge. She is a lively personality off-camera and holds the vogue facial expressions well, her lighthearted interaction during the bathtub scene was great as it showed a comfort with both her situation (being in front of a window naked and covered in bubbles probably isn’t something every woman is good with, but she makes it work.
Score: 7/10 (Aesthetics), 7/10 (Performance)
Summary
Overall, this film scores in the middle of the pack. The style, while entertaining and certainly welcome within a BTS getting to know the model sort of perspective, leans too much into the commentary and not enough into the modelling, especially with how many additional scenes were left out as seen in the BTS segments. This style wasn’t uncommon for the time and the competitors weren’t strangers when it came to advertising one thing and doing something entirely different, but that doesn’t excuse or exempt these films from missing the mark on what an Image Video is: modelling first, BTS content second. The tourist feel does give it some bonus points as this is a style that while mixed in its execution back then is something I’d love to see in more recent Gravure productions. As stated earlier during the review, a release like this is more likely a video compliment to a physical photoshoot release and within that context this film would score higher as a companion medium, but standalone it falls a bit short. If this film had this much BTS content but each scene included was at least 15 minutes long, then we’d be onto something, but alas. This is certainly worth a watch (or anything from Eros for that matter) if you want to get a feel for where Gravure came from, and if you know Japanese and are a fan of early JAV stars such as Nana, then this is also a bonus.
Score: 6.9/10 (nice)
Pros
– Lots of BTS content
– Nana looks nice, quintessential 2000s styling
– Tourist vlog style is always welcome
Cons
– Lots of BTS content
– Scenes were far too short, travel vlog + modelling is cool, but a better balance is needed
– Music is present but some choices are very poor and the shortness of scenes often leaves the music impact reduced