Okay so this is an unusual one to review. Technically this isn’t a porn film, it just has a lot of nudity. A lot is perhaps an understatement, as the characters are nude throughout. There’s no sex at all or to quote the back of the DVD case “…they don’t fuck because this is a psychological film.” Yeah they like to make a big brew haw about it being a psychological film even making it the films sub-title.
The Naked is a Polish comedy/drama set in an office where every character happens to be naked. No mention is made about it and the story itself wouldn’t be effected even if they weren’t. But that may be the whole point. To bring something we see as provocative and bring it upfront and then ignore it to show that really it’s no big deal.
The film concerns three women working in a dreary office together. The new girl has just started and appears to be constantly struggling with the computer, which the other two women don’t seem to see the point of. Their day consists of interruptions from salesmen and people thinking they are either a vet or bank, gossiping and talking about a soap opera. Their boss gets bitten by a possibly rabid dog, two boys come in and create havoc, chopping cables and throwing things about and some free cans of meat gets everyone excited. The new girl, who is the only one actually trying to work, also suffers from a constant stream of belittling and shouting from her co-workers for not knowing what she’s not really expected to know on her first day.
The film is just over 70 minutes long and shot on handheld digital. From the moment it starts you get a feeling of extreme cheapness, exactly like a porn film of the era. The film takes place in real time and rarely sets foot outside the small office space. The idea itself might not be exactly revolutionary since it could be essentially seen as a modern day nudist film. From the 1930s to 60s, sex and nudity in cinema was rare due to the restrictions of the Hayes code. Nudity however could be shown in documentaries and nudist films, but only if it wasn’t shown as being sexualised, merely in a cultural or lifestyle aspect. Of course nudist films found a market in those wanting an easy thrill. Unfortunately these films were terribly dull and quickly vanished as soon as the Hayes code did and a new era of erotica took its place; the nudie cutie. With The Naked it seems honest about it’s nudity. The cast haven’t be picked because they have the hottest bodies. We get a real mixture, young and old, male and female, fat and thin. Their bodies show all the wear and tear that comes with life; sagging skin, scars, body hair. We see both beautiful and ugly bodies. I feel however that the cast was more chosen not for their bodies or acting skills but rather than they agreed to shed for the camera.
The nudity is presented in a way that it shouldn’t be seen as important. So what are we left with? The story. And there’s isn’t really much of one. The film really is pretty minimalist, very much like a play. It’s really a build up of one event after the next eventually erupting into chaos. It’s actually very dull, like a nudist film. Once the novelty wears off there isn’t much left. However with a nudist film there at least was a reason for the nudity, in fact it was the whole plot. I cannot consider this a nudist film because after all this is a psychological film.
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