À la recherche du paradis perdu

Nudity is unsettling. Nudity fascinates. Nudity is exciting. As a matter of fact we tend to mix nakedness,sexuality, lifestyle and pleasure. Living Naked sorts out the concepts and tries to present us with the "naked truth" about naturalism. Through many testimonies, some very funny, some moving, through fascinating archive footage and a tour of the main naturist resorts in France and Germany. Living Naked explores, demystifies the taboos. Nor a voyeur, nor a proselyte, Director Robert Salis addresses the Adam or the Eve living inside of us. Just released on DVD in French, this is a unique must see feature film about naturalism.

I don't speak French, so I can't say much about the audio for this movie. But it does seem to be a fairly straightforward documentary on the nudist lifestyle. There are shots of all ages and shapes of people going about normal daily activities without clothing. There are lots of interviews with men and women, too; they appear to be explaining the appeal of the nudist lifestyle, without attaching any sexual context to it.

At the same time, there are a few examples of sensuality in the film. The biggest one is near the end of the film. A very young, very beautiful early teenage girl is standing calf-deep in a river. The camera very, very slowly pans up her body, from her legs to her face. In another, earlier scene, two older teenage girls are laying in the grass. Again, the camera slowly pans across from their legs to their faces. The one girl is looking at the camera with what can only be called a seductive look on her face. In other shots, the camera starts with a view of men's privates, pauses, and then pulls back.

So, while the film is almost exclusively innocent, there are a few instances where they seem to be pandering to a voyeuristic audience.

It is a documentary. I don't much care for documentaries.

The audio was about 90 percent French without subtitles. I don't speak French.

Yet it held me enthralled for one hundred minutes, and I only wish it didn't have to end.

If you enjoy good-looking nudity you will love "Living Naked" (also called "Vivre Nu"). The nudists in this movie are all real people. All of them--men, women, children--look like they enjoy every minute that they can spend unclothed. And the viewer cannot help sharing in their enjoyment.

Well worth at least 15 stars--too bad I can't give more than ten.