The Naked Director [Netflix]

johnny_ultimate

So said I'd give this one its own thread to see if there's anyone else watching (thoughts semi-copied from the Netflix thread in film)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jqHR_T-E8

What'sis it? Well basically its Netflix's attempt at a crossover hit from Japan, as well as their big bid to make a splash in Japan itself. They got the Narcos creator to come in to help advise the filmmakers, who are mostly well regarded indie filmmakers such as Masaharu Take (behind the superb boxing film 100 Yen Love) and Eiji Uchida (Greatful Dead, Lowlife Love).

What is it about? It's an exaggerated biopic of real-life 'emperor of porn' Toru Muranishi, set in the 1980s. It follows Toru's journey from encyclopedia salesman to adult film innovator, through various bouts of legal trouble and through numerous business ups-and-downs / wild schemes. A key focus of the latter half of the series is the discovery of his muse, Kaoru Kuroki (an adult video star who became a mainstream sensation in Japan). But it's also a crime drama, with the yakuza deeply engrained in the industry (and this story), particularly in their sale of uncensored tapes.

It's quite unusual for a Japanese drama these days - very much designed to be accessible to an international audience as much as a domestic one.

This is mostly a good thing. It does feel like it has had its edges smoothed down a bit - somewhat lacks the character of the directors’ previous work (although not familiar with the work of the filmmaker behind the last three episodes). It’s still very Japanese in terms of context and culture (whether genitals are sufficiently censored is a major plot point ), but the whole thing plays out more like a traditional western crime drama than you’d typically find in J-cinema.

Generally felt like a mix of Narcos and Boogie Nights in some ways. Little bit awkwardly straddles the line between comedy and bleak crime drama, but for the most part it hits the mark: while there are clearly ‘heroes’ and villains, it doesn’t shy away from the seediness of the porn industry everyone’s involved with. It’s very slickly made, and far greater production values than I’d expect from contemporary Japanese productions (either TV or film). Clearly benefits from Masaharu Take overseeing affairs: the first two episodes really benefit from his smart, witty framing of scenes (few better directors of montages working today).

It has its problems (pretty much all the female characters bar one are weirdly neglected, for one) and it’s definitely been designed for wide appeal for better and worse. But I was generally impressed and happily flew through the series in a few days (eight episodes is a perfect number). It’s a hell of a yarn that achieves the right mix between true story and entertaining fabrication, and I’m happy to see good Japanese directors given plenty of resources for once. Seems to be minimum chatter about it on the web so far, but could easily see it being a foreign language hit if it does gain a bit of traction and isn’t just buried by Netflix like so many before it.