Nude (2010)

It seems that Yuichi Onuma (Dotei Horoki, Akiba) is on a roll with nude, his third feature released in 2010. Based on the popular autobiography of recently retired (at the age of 27) porn star, Mihiro, nude follows a traditional trajectory. Girl from the sticks comes to the big city. Where else, but in Shibuya she meets an AV tout. From idoru magazine spreads to spreading her legs in hardcore porn movies is her treacherous ride to success. Hisayasu Satou recently did the same story in Nama no nai onatachi – poorly. Onuma gives the story poignancy in Mihoro’s loss of not so much innocence, as connection to friends and the world she left behind and her fragility and isolation in the banal world of porn. Sensitively and non-judgmentally portrayed by Naoko Watanabe, Mihiro is, of all things, a fairly normal woman making life choices. The real Mihiro shows up as screen Mihiro’s savvy guide to the ins and outs of the sex film industry and Ken Mitsuishi shines in the role of her manager/pimp.