''Nana, the True Key of Pleasure'' is a 1982 English-language Italian drama film directed by

Dan Wolman Dan Wolman (born October 28, 1941) is an Israeli filmmaker and lecturer in film studies. Biography Dan Wolman was born in Jerusalem, in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine. His father was Moshe Wolman, a pioneering physician. He spe ...

based on Émile Zola's 1880 novel '' Nana''. The music is by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...

. The film was produced by Yoram Globus and

Menahem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon ...

Plot

Winsome Nana performs as an attraction in the magic show of Mellies the magician at the Minotaure, including in erotic

shadow play Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...

and "moving photographs". She afterwards puts in work as a prostitute. Zoe acts as her confidante and

chambermaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

. Many rich and influential men are besotted by Nana's youthful beauty and want to make her their own. The banker Steiner buys her a house, but she soon throws him out and uses it to pursue her business. At one point, Nana hosts an erotic hunt for her guests, who can watch through looking glasses a real-life pornographic show unfold itself before their eyes. She also engages in a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

encounter with Satin, one of the female customers at the Minotaure. Count Muffat as well as his son Hector are equally besotted by Nana. When she is introduced to the prizefighter Bijou, she gets Muffat to sponsor him; Bijou is killed in a fight to the death, the count is ruined, and eventually, he and his family are evicted from their residence by Steiner the banker who has rigged the fight. When Muffat complains to Nana about his ruin, she reveals to him that his wife has been cheating on him with Faucherie, an intrigue which she has previously arranged, and the men fight each other in a duel. Nana then ruins the wedding of young Hector Muffat when she elopes with him in a horse-drawn carriage. Eventually, however, there is honour among thieves: Muffat becomes minister of the interior, sponsored by Faucherie, and Nana leaves in a hot air balloon for India to meditate - taking yet another beau along for the ride.

Cast

Katya Berger Katya Bebb Cobham (Berger) (born 1966) (sometimes credited as Katia Berger or Katja Berger) is a film actress. Biography Katya Berger was born on 13 December 1966 in London, England. She is the daughter of Hugh Russell Bebb and the Croatian sin ...

: Nana *

Shirin Taylor Shirin Taylor (born 1956) is an English actress, best known for playing Jackie Ingram in the television soap opera '' Coronation Street'' from 1990 to 1992 as well as Tina, girlfriend to Robert Lindsay's character in comedy drama '' Give Us a Br ...

: Zoe, Nana's maid * Jean-Pierre Aumont: comte de Muffat (count Muffat) * Mandy Rice-Davies: Sabine, comtesse de Muffat * Marcus Beresford: Hector Muffat *

Yehuda Efroni Judah or Yehuda is the name of a biblical patriarch, Judah (son of Jacob). It may also refer to: Historical ethnic, political and geographic terms * Tribe of Judah, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel; their allotment corresponds to Judah or Ju ...

: Steiner, the banker * Massimo Serato: Faucherie, journalist for Le Figaro * Annie Belle: Rennée de Chéselles, fiancée of Hector * Debra Berger: Satin * Tom Felleghy: Mellies the magician

References

External links

* * * 1982 films 1982 drama films 1982 LGBT-related films Adultery in films Italian drama films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films based on works by Émile Zola Films based on French novels Golan-Globus films English-language Italian films Cockfighting in film Films produced by Menahem Golan Films about prostitution Lesbian-related films Films produced by Yoram Globus 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub