Nympho Diver: G-String Festival (1981)
The Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection
Label: Impulse Pictures
Region: 1 NTSC
Duration: 69 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with English Subtitles
Director: Atsushi Fujiura
Cast: Anzi Eri, Ezaki Kazuyo, Aono Rima
Director Atsushi Fujiur's Nympho Diver: G-String Festival (1981) is quite a departure from the dark erotic delights that Impulse Picture's have been putting out recently as part of the Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection. It's a departure in that there's still a ton of naked Asians performing sex acts, don't fret that my friends, but it's a pretty light-hearted sex-comedy that's brisk and entertaining if rather light on plot. We begin with a fun voyeuristic sex scene as a young man attempts to screw his beloved in a rather uncomfortable place... the front of a compact car with an audience, the young woman squeals in protest to her lover's lust only to protest just as fervently when he stops, it's goofy, sexy and fun and sets the pace for the film's 69 minute duration. The sparse story revolves around a seaside village once renown for its attractive pearl divers, apparently these "ama" or "girl diver" films are a Japanese cinema sub genre all to themselves, anyway, the once thriving tourism trade has waned increasingly through the years, there's but one girl diver left in town and she's a bit of an aging sea beast, too. In desperation the mayor hatches a scheme to increase tourism and save his dying village by recruiting sexy, young divers from the surrounding area. Towards this end his young, and rather horny son, recruits a few pretty ladies, all in their 20's, from disparate walks of life. There's a nice montage of the mayor's son, Nobou, awkwardly approaching each woman and somehow winning them over, it's all a bit slapstick and good bit of fun, a pleasant departure from the previous Nikkatsu features so ripe with bondage, rape fantasies and violent sexual desires. So, while it's a welcome change of pace it must be said that despite the fact that these films were dark and maybe a bit of a challenge to endure they at least had, for the most part, an intriguing story line you could follow and maybe even sink your teeth into, Nympho Diver however is pretty slim on story, and mostly cobbled together with copious amounts of nudity and goofy sexploitation, which is not an altogether unpleasant issue. Everyone is getting some here; the mayor, his son, even the local priest is balls deep in it. We get a little bit of every kink here, from voyeurism, to fetishes, the priest pleasuring one of the gals with a wooden stick, grown men in diapers, breast feeding, sex under false pretenses, a love triangle and then it somehow it all culminates in a bizarre g-string festival and a bizarrely somber headscratcher of an ending, weird stuff, but it's Nikkatsu so you just gotta expect that sorta strangeness going in my friend.
DVD: Not the most attractive film cinematically but Impulse Pictures' disc look pretty great on a technical level, presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) we get a great source print with precious few flaws. Colors are a bit soft but overall it looks quite good with decent black levels, it's a surprisingly crisp affair. We get a Japanese language Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track that's free of hiss and pops, dialogue, score and effects are well-balanced, there are newly translated English subtitles for those of us not worldly enough to not need them, and quite honestly this is not really a film that requires dialogue. While the film is a bit disposable I am I am quite impressed overall with Impulse Pictures presentation of The Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection.
Extras are limited to the Original Theatrical Trailer (1:13) and the usual Jasper Sharp liner notes which accompany each of the Nikkatsu films, putting the film into context of the period, always an informative read.
Special Features:
- Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Liner Notes from Japanese Film Scholar Jasper Sharp
Verdict: Definitely a fun watch with ample amounts of nude Asian ladies, whom occasionally don g-strings, but are mostly just nude, with some fun low-brow kink and bawdy hi-jinx. Honestly, there's not a lot of re watch value here for me, none in fact, at the very least this was a fun break from the dark weirdness of the previous Nikkatsu films even if a bit sub-par. 2 Outta 5
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