A lot of what has been written about this film focuses on how faithfully the manga was adapted. On balance, it seems the manga fans are satisfied. If you are a fan of Nakashima's music, you will also, in all likelihood, get something out of Nana. And the under-14 crowd might enjoy it. For the rest of the world, this film is puerile.In fact, even the under-14s should keep away from this. The two protagonists, Nana and Hachi, represent the extremes that young Japanese women are meant to live up to - fluffy, cutesy air-headedness, in the case of Hachi, or chain-smoking, unprotected sex'ing, don't-give-a-f%#k posturing in the case of Nana. It is a glib rendition of Japanese womanhood presented through the filter of corrupting middle-age adults. This film was a huge hit here in Japan, and a lot of the younger element of that audience will think these women are something to aspire to. That thought depresses me.Having said that, it is not difficult to figure out why this film has succeeded commercially. The manga origins explain (but do not necessarily grant clemency to) the absurd coincidences, contrived conflicts, distilled emotional manipulation and clunky dialogue. The surreal interior sets, in particular the medieval bathroom shared by Nana and Ren, and the stately-home-style apartment Nana and Hachi share, are seductive. There are some fine looking boys and girls to look at, (even if the over-rated Matsuda gives off the same wooden air he sunk to in Gimmy Heaven). There are catchy tunes here. Nana as a character has some attitude and Nakashima's performance has charisma. But how is it possible to not loathe Hachi? This is hardly Miyazaki's fault, she no doubt only worked with what she was given, but such facile, image-obsessed females do exist, and are celebrated by uninformed women and misogynist males, and this Cult of Cute makes it all the more difficult for ambitious, talented females to succeed. I kept waiting for Nana to slap Hachi, or at least give her a good shake. Instead, Nana is co-opted into the Hachi world, and delivers up her 'dream' for her at the end. If there is a sub-text to this film, it is that no woman can succeed or be truly happy without a man coming to her aid.Now that Nana 2 is out, maybe it will re-dress the balance. Nana will dump Ren and make it on her own as a vocalist. Hachi will stop shaking her head when she speaks like a nodding dog in a car windscreen, shave her hair off, come out of the closet and begin an affair with her ex-boyfriend's lover. Or maybe it will just be more vacuous fare that the blissfully ignorant teenage masses will flock to.

I am one of NANA comic books' fans, so that's why i really love this movie! It contained all details i wanted it to have. The actors were so real, especially Kyosuke, it was like he jumped out of the comic books! The soundtracks went along with the scenes very well. And they did all the emotional scenes pretty touching. I could laugh and cry along with Nana and Hachi. Both the comic books and the movie perfectly complete each other. When I read the comic books, I have to imagine the characters' voices but in the movie I hear their voices and I deeply get into their feelings. Mika Nakashima was so good at expressing her voice. Aoi Miyazaki was the perfect Hachi, she was cute and innocent. Yuna Ito wasn't so much like Reira but loved her voice though. I really wish they will make NANA II!!!

In my opinion,NANA is a touching Japanese film. You have to be really concentrated and understand the main characters' feeling. Indeed, this film made me cried for twice :*)Both main characters are called NANA. They met each other for once and again when they were deciding to rent a flat. Since both of them like the flat so much, then they decided to rent it together and live together. They started to know about each other and also secrets... OK I'll stop telling you and let you to watch it yourself :) - It seems to be a boring movie at first, but surely it turned out to be not. There's no doubt that the story frame is quite boring. If you had paid attention and understand the main characters' feeling, you could feel that it's interesting and touching.HIGH RECOMMENDED :)

Those who have watched "Kamikaze Girls" and expected "Nana" to be much of the same are in for a big surprise. In "Nana", they will find neither avant garde characters nor black humour, but instead a very mainstream story, told in a traditional way, and wonderfully told, I hasten to add.Two girls have a chance encounter on a train, and later more chance encounters, are both called Nana (one is actually the pronunciation of a Japanese name). At the first encounter, one is dressed completely in black, the other completely in white. Nana-W, "cute and fluffy", on her way to be with her boyfriend in Tokyo, is also the voice over narrator. Nana-B, a rock vocalist as cool as you can get, has her story told in simple flashbacks. Nana-B comes with a broken heart; Nana-W is going to get one.Without getting too much into the plot, it suffices to say that Nana-B (in flashbacks) initially did not follow her guitar-player boyfriend Ren to Tokyo because she wanted to prove herself rather than live in his shadows. Three years later, now ready, she heads for Tokyo herself, encounters Nana-W on the train and winds up sharing an apartment with her. Nana-W on the other hand ends up losing her boyfriend but helps Nana-B to regain hers.I have simplified the stories, which are rich with supporting characters, well played by an ensemble cast that have taken their roles to a perfect length, leaving a firm impression without getting too much into the spotlight. And there is no villain in this movie. Even Nana-W's boyfriend Shoji who falls in love with another girl, and the girl he falls in love with, deserve considerable sympathy. Shoji, by the way, is played by Yuta Hiaroka who is just adorable in "Swing Girls". Ren, Nana-B's guitar-player boyfriend, is played by the Japanese star who many consider to have the most beautiful face, Ryuhei Matsuda and if you have seen "Gohatto", you'll understand why.In "Nana" we also see a very popular reverse in roles as in "Kamakaze girls". Nana-W starts out as sweet but woolly-headed, helpless cute damsel but ends up not only being able to get over her heartbreak, but also instrumental to Nana-B's mending a broken relationship. Nana-B, so cool and tough, actually has a weak spot in her heart. But in the end, it's the friendship and comradeship between the two girls that gives this movie an uplifting, feel-good ending.Visually, we are treated with some stunningly melancholic snow scenes, as well as a mesmerising surreal frame from the laced window of the girls' apartment.The sound is equally captivating, particularly Mika Nakashima's rock numbers.But that's not all. "Nana" has a more subtle sub-text, surrounding the rock musicians' strive for success. Ren's heading for Tokyo is no different from someone leaving everything behind in the home town to seek fame and fortune in The Big Apple. When we see him a few years later, he seems to have got to where he wanted to be, but has he really? He is with a top band, but is obviously not as popular as the other guitarist. He later intimates that he got there by sheer hard work, not talent. That is all very educational but isn't talent what it's all about with music? Seeing Ren's "success" would almost be a disillusion to Nana-B, who firmly believes that SHE has talents. Maybe there is no answer and perhaps asking the question is already taking the movie beyond what it intends to be.