Varied Celluloid

	Nympho Diver: G-String Festival (1981)

Director:	Atsushi Fujiura
Writers:	Kazuhiko Ban and Atsushi Fujiura
Starring:	Eri Anzai, Rima Aono, Kazuyo Ezaki, and Maki Kawamura

The Plot: In a small coastal Japanese village, the mayor finds himself in a bit of a pickle. The town is missing any sort of allure or draw to outsiders, and the entire community is suffering because of it. In the past, there was once a team of female divers that regularly drew the attention of the outside world due to their very risque clothing. Unfortunately, the only diver left is well into her middle-age years. So, the mayor and the dive team send Nobuo, a charming young man who is apparently able to grab the attention of any female he makes a play for, into the big city in order to draw a handful of women back to their small town. The girls are all young, perky, and easily persuaded into taking this wacky job. Soon enough, a love triangle develops around Nobuo, and a local perverted monk makes a play for one of the girls. Crazy hijinks ensue.

	The Review

With a title like Nympho Diver: G-String Festival, the movie basically sells itself. When I first took note of the film on the release schedule from Synapse, I knew that I would be tracking it down. The title is a headline that promises tackiness and a smorgasbord of exploitation. To have relatively high expectations based solely on a translated title is probably not a bright idea, but I’ve never laid claim to any sort of intelligence. So, after finally sitting down with Nympho Diver, I can say with utmost certainty that it both defied and fulfilled my expectations. Sound contradictory? Well, it is. You see, the roman porno genre often has one of two delivery methods: comedy or drama. There are plenty of other films that fall outside of these two genres, but these two examples are very prevalent. Well, Nympho Diver is first and foremost comedic in its delivery. So, while this one certainly delivers on the promise of nymphomaniac divers who can’t get enough sex, if you’re looking for a roman porno that has much more to its plot than the bare minimum, you might end up looking elsewhere.

Similar to I Love it From Behind!, Nympho Diver regularly goes over-the-top in terms of its humor. The main difference is that this film never stops trying to top itself in terms of wacky jokes and zany situations. Not even in order to properly establish a plot. With multiple characters inhabiting this story, it becomes difficult to tell whether or not there is any central protagonist. Instead, the movie feels like a neverending series of sexual affairs that are tied together via the tiniest threads that could be used and still refer to this as a “movie.” For some, this lack of cohesion may be easily glossed over, or even admired to some degree, but if all you are hoping for from a film is sex, then hardcore porn would be much easier to recommend. Instead, Nympho Diver feels like a waste of time and features a story that runs out of ground before it ever even has a chance to develop legs.

There are some interesting bits to be found in Nympho Diver. As with all things Nikkatsu during the seventies and eighties, even if the movie itself is not of a high quality, you can always count on very solid cinematography and set design. These are two ares in which the film still manages to be quality. From the excellent set decorations to the impressive camerawork, the movie looks pretty amazing. Even the sex scenes are handled in a fairly beautiful way. There is a sex scene early in the movie that takes place inside of a car, and it certainly is one of the prime standouts in the movie. With some very solid camerawork that seems to pan back and forth on a track, the sequence comes off as far more polished than it deserves to be. As far as in-camera trickery though, there are few scenes that actually stand out. For the most part, the biggest surprises in the movie are from how the filmmakers manage to hide the crotch of the plentiful nude women on display throughout the movie.

There are few pinku or roman porno titles that I have seen that better live up to the braindead “porno” ideal than this particular film. Often, the filmmakers were so bored with genre pastiche that they tried to innovate in any way that they could. However, it seems that director Atsushi Fujiura wasn’t quite as interested in subtext or characterization like many of his contemporaries were. The closest the film ever comes to having any subtext is in the closeup shots of clams, which obviously have a very vaginal appearance, and some other phallic imagery. This is gradeschool stuff, but it matches the film aesthetically, because almost everything about the movie is rather childish. Still, it stands out for its boobs, sex, and silliness.

	The Conclusion

Nympho Diver: G-String Festival, despite all of my blathering, is not a terrible movie. It is has some very large problems in terms of creating context and nurturing a story, but if the audience craves nudity and sex, then this will deliver. Unfortunately, there are so many other efforts out there that stand taller than this. Overall, the movie gets a two. It is a generic outing with nothing that stands out as being exceptional. Still, for Roman Porno fans… it still might be worth checking out, if only for the exploitative closeup shots of various clams.