Shorts to put on, vol. 4
A fresh round of reviews of nude-themed short films found online
Hello! I’m back with more FREE nude film shorts for you to put on at your leisure! Some of these are strikingly beautiful, but of course I had to throw in some weirdness to liven things up. Enjoy! 🚀
Nulepsy (2011)
Directed by Jessica Sarah Rinland
This short centers on an elderly man talking about how a bizarre affliction has affected him over the course of his life. Since childhood, he would, at inconvenient times, find himself compelled to undress as quickly as possible, blacking out for several hours and occasionally going into a paralytic state in the process. It seems there’s nothing really to be done about this disease, and the people around him more or less accept it. The film’s titular condition was made up by the director one day while looking out her window at pedestrians in New York, imagining what would happen if one of them suddenly got naked and laid down on the sidewalk.
There was this brief period, some years back, where I questioned if my own desire to be nude whenever possible was some sort of disorder, even though my friends all seemingly accepted it, and this makes me recall that weird, uncertain period. It also brings back childhood memories from before I knew what nudism was, of just feeling compelled to sleep nude, or waiting until I was home alone to run around my yard naked. The skateboarding scenes here especially remind me of how that felt. 🚀
Living Sculptures: Film Study for Screen Artist (1903)
Directed by Oskar Messter
This four-minute short was created as a resource for young artists who could not afford live models to work from. A male and female model strike classical poses, together and solo, while the camera travels around them. It’s simple, but there’s a lovely sense of beauty here, and of humanity. The way the poses progress suggests a narrative element as well, especially in the duet poses. My favorite thing is seeing the models settle into each pose, giving you a better idea of what muscles they’re engaging, and you occasionally get to see them relax out of the poses as well. There are some more physically demanding poses seen where the models struggle to stay still; I love the dance pose, where the model has to move her foot to maintain her balance, a big smile on her face in the process. Modeling is fun, but challenging, and this short really demonstrates that, even if it wasn’t necessarily intentional. Why haven’t I done any of my own drawings from this yet? 🚀
The Art of Nude Bowling (1994)
Directed by Bill Osco
What a weird thing this is. It opens with a text crawl read aloud by a man with a dubious accent proclaiming this to be the lost first film work of Alfred Hitchcock. Two nude men (with their faces and genitals artfully scratched out) and several nude women (some of whom have their faces painted like clowns) are bowling. All dialogue in the short itself is done as intertitles, with the characters insulting each other in crude, Shakespearean ways. Commentary is provided by two other men arguing about whether or not it's true that Hitchcock made this (he didn't) and insulting each other's sexuality. IMDB states that one of the men is adult film legend Ron Jeremy, and I can sort of see it I guess?
I dunno. It’s not great, it’s South Park levels of humor, but it was such a strange thing for me to find that I had to include it. Also, there’s an episode of the TV show Buying Naked where a bowling alley hosts a nude bowling night. I’d definitely give it a try if I had the opportunity! 🚀
A Name Written in Water (2021)
Directed by Simone Consoli
The world is dying and everyone knows it. Greta, a young woman unsure of what to do with her remaining time, drives to a small lakeside camp where she finds two young men and a woman, all nude. She undresses, joins them, and has the best time of her life. Vague, all too short, but beautiful, this one is so peaceful to me. I can’t think of a better way to experience the end of the world. 🚀
That’s it.
Which one of these shorts is your favorite? What do you like about them? Do you find anything in common amongst them apart from the nudity itself? 🪐
All were interesting, but I found the first one (the fellow with the strange affliction) probably my favorite. Each one had it's own good points, but the one about nude bowling was my LEAST favorite.
Thanks so much for calling these films to our attention. I particularly enjoyed the 1st and 4th. I appreciate your perceptive write-ups on each film.