Senza buccia

Whether it is considered a matter of faith, in the sense of being in tandem with nature, how the way bodies naturally look creates a continuity with the ecosystem where the human presence is lacking, or a matter of liberation from myriad constraints of the social urban life, there is something emancipatory in nudism that echoes a relationship where freedom of choice between its members constitutes and solidifies its strength.

A coming of age that follows a group of friends vacationing in the Aeolian Islands, where desire and jealousy burn like the hot sunrays of the Mediterranean Sea. Giuliano (Maurizio Interlandi) and his girlfriend Barbara (Lilli Carati) will spend their summer days on the islands along with their young friend Daniele (Juan Carlos Naya). While sailing, they find a stranded boat in which a young nudist couple is. Being curious at first sight about their nudity, they willingly help them and offer the Swedish pair the opportunity to stay with them at the villa. Since being naked comes naturally to them, Trella (Ilona Staller) and Bjorn (Miki Vouk) do not change their habits while in the villa with their new Italian hosts. Unlike Barbara, who finds it "disgusting," this is something Giuliano seems comfortable with: "Nudism has only good things. Beauty, harmony." That is, until his girlfriend appears without any clothes, surprising him by her newfound unshyness. What begins as something playful to make her boyfriend jealous becomes the new normal, and the trio follows their guests in disposing of their clothes and making their bodies alluring additions to the summer canvas.

Directed by Marcello Aliprandi with a script by Ugo Liberatore and César Fernández Ardavín, Senza buccia explores love and its effects. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek once equated love to a "cosmic imbalance" where, like in the universe, "particular things appeared when the balance is disturbed." We can draw a symmetry between this definition and what happens in the movie when Trella and Bjorn, out of nowhere, enter into the lives of Giuliano and Barbara. It is clear from the first time he laid his eyes on Trella that Giuliano is interested in her. The blond-haired Ilona Staller resembles a mermaid-like figure with her slender body naked by the sea, an image that captivates Giuliano and troubles Barbara, whose insecurity now finds a vehicle to surface. It is interesting how the film explores jealousy since it exposes its true meaning as nothing but a symptom of a lack. A lack of confidence finding in the other's desire for what one does not have a reason for self-rejection and hatred towards the other but mainly towards oneself. There is a reason why psychologists refer to it as evidence of insecurity, a manifestation of an absence of self-love that haunts its host.

The narrative becomes more tense with the appearance of Adriana (Olga Karlatos), friend of the mother of Giuliano, whose presence will mark a difference with the others due to her preference to keep her clothes on, a preference that will add to the playful eroticism, for instance, by suggesting that the "problem" should be solved by the boys being naked and the girls dressed. Her presence will also have an effect on inexperienced Daniele. He proceeds to follow her everywhere, trying to woo her and give expression to his infatuation. In a conversation with her, Daniele indicates he dreams every night he is a tree, just waiting there for his leaves to grow. Naturally, this symbolizes his self-awareness when it comes to experience, something that troubles him owing to his perceived inability to be the protagonist of experiences and feel like he "lived." By reason of this, like Barbara, he is jealous of Giuliano, but, while his girlfriend is troubled because of his time spent with Trella, his friend is jealous owing to his easiness and beguiling effect with women. Marcello Aliprandi's feature conveys Giuliano's effect on Trella in a picturesque fashion where we see him standing by her while she is on a swing, playfully coming and going, visuals naturally resembling the famous painting L'Escarpolette (The Swing) by Fragonard.