Age of Nudity

Size matters. Suzuki's Age of Nudity is a cute little film, but it would've been a lot less interesting at twice the length. 50 minutes is relatively short, but the story is pretty basic and the strict pacing makes sure that there are no lulls. A film like this doesn't need to be much longer.

Sabu is a young boy growing up in a poor family. He wants to go to school, but his parents lack the money. So he joins a gang of rascals who work together to get some bucks together. Not everything they do is legit, but they try to stay clear of true criminal behavior. Until one of them steals cash from the Yakuza.

The film has some pleasant action scenes, the performances are decent enough and there's enough variation to keep the 50 minutes engaging. Other than that, it's noticeably a film of a director still finding his signature style. Not Suzuki's greatest work, but it was quite a bit better that I'd expected it to be.