Nude (2017)

NUDE explores perceptions of nudity in art by chronicling the creative process of photographer David Bellemere as he's commissioned by NU Muses founder Steve Shaw to shoot a fine art calendar of nude photographs.

Not sure what the message to take from this is... what is art? What is beauty? How does the business work? Is it fair? What's the relation between the model and the director, and/or the photographer?

When it's all over I feel like David Bellemere was the good guy, and Steve Shaw the bad one - if there is a good and a bad, and the black girl the smart girl - but everyone had their own story (some of them pretty interesting). Their own ambitions. Their own inhibitions and natural beauty... or unnatural beauty. Either way there's a whole lot of beauty in this movie: classy, artful and exhibitionistic... and a turn for the perverse towards the end.

It's interesting how different you view the scenes when you see them from behind the camera man - with the models in motion - trying to stand still, and in the final shots.

It's better like this. Alive. Natural, sensual, yet cold and contorted at the same time. I wonder what temperatures they shoot in... in the end it's just another day at work, and a probably well-paying one at that.

The movie doesn't delve into the industry as much as it dives into the nudity, into how far they're willing to go and what it all means. To the director. To the photograph. To the beholder. Though in the end I feel they don't delve into these questions enough. They manage to make it seem sophisticated, but they barely scratch the surface. It's more a documentary than it is, as the description seems to imply, a wholesome take on 'perceptions of nudity in art'. The photographer speaks a bit, but I'd appreciate some different angles.

That said it's not a bad documentary, and the backstory is an appreciated touch - it lends personality to something you might just otherwise watch for the visuals. Whether you're looking for a deeper glimpse into the industry or just want to see a lot of naked beautiful girls, this has both.

It's intriguing, enticing on the eye, personal and well-filmed, and does what it's supposed to do. It documents the process, from start to finish and a bit beyond. Good watch.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle