Film

Nana

Name: Nana
Genre: Romance, Drama, Music
Released: 2005
Cast: Mika Nakashima, Aoi Miyazaki, Kenichi Matsuyama, Ryuhei Matsuda, Tetsuji Tamayama

Other titles called Nana: the 1926 film, the 1985 film, the 2006 series (NTV).

Coming-of-age

Two Nanas collide in Tokyo and become inseparable friends—one chasing rock stardom, the other searching for love. This is a film about parallel lives, small betrayals, and the particular ache of watching someone you love disappoint you. It's messy, dramatic, and genuinely moving. For anyone who's felt unmoored in a new city or watched a friendship fracture under pressure.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love close friendship stories where two very different people pull each other through messy love lives, and you don't mind a film that lingers on feelings more than plot.

Skip it if you want a tidy, fast-moving story; this one takes its time, lets scenes breathe, and leans on melancholy more than on big dramatic payoffs.

What it asks of you: Roughly two hours of patience with a loose, observational rhythm, where the emotional texture matters more than where the story is going.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Nodame Cantabile2006

Another Japanese story about young people in the arts trying to build lives in the city, with a similar blend of comedy, romance, and genuine emotional stakes. The relationship between the leads has that same spark and friction.

But It's about classical music rather than rock, which might feel less immediately gripping, and it leans harder into comedy than Nana does.

Garden State2004

Zach Braff's film catches that same feeling of young people adrift in their own lives, searching for meaning and connection. It's funny, tender, and beautifully captures the isolation of feeling lost among friends.

But It's an American indie from the 2000s, so the cultural touchstones are entirely different. Some find it self-indulgent.

Eternal Summer2006

A Taiwanese film about complicated desire and the messiness of first love. It shares Nana's willingness to let characters be flawed and its interest in how we lie to ourselves and each other.

But It's slower and more introspective than Nana. The queer storyline may surprise you if you weren't expecting it.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Nana

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Mulholland Drive2001

Both films follow young women chasing dreams in a city that promises transformation but delivers heartbreak. Both are interested in how hope and delusion become indistinguishable, and how the self fractures under ambition.

Lynch's fractured narrative about two women in Los Angeles is formally experimental but emotionally devastating. Like Nana, it's about dreams colliding with reality and identity coming apart under pressure—but it refuses linear storytelling to show it.

But It's abstract and deliberately cryptic. If you want clear answers about what happened and why, this will frustrate you intensely. Not for viewers who want their narratives spelled out.

Boys on the Side1995

Three women form an unexpected bond and drive across America together. It's lighter than Nana but shares its interest in how female friendships can be as vital and turbulent as romantic love.

But The film's tone is more uplifting and less psychologically complex. It doesn't dig as deep into betrayal and ambition.

Honey2003

A young dancer chasing her dreams in the city, navigating love and ambition simultaneously. It captures the hunger and desperation of trying to make art while staying afloat emotionally.

But It's more plot-driven and less interested in nuance. The film moves fast and keeps things relatively sunny compared to Nana's darker moments.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish2020

A gorgeous Japanese film about two young people from different worlds who reshape each other's lives. It has real emotional intelligence and isn't afraid of messiness.

But Lighter in tone, with a more hopeful arc. It prioritizes warmth where Nana prioritizes friction.

Last Friends2008

A Japanese drama that sprawls across the lives of a group of young people navigating love, sexuality, and ambition. It's ambitious and unafraid to tackle complicated subjects.

But It's 11 hours long and occasionally melodramatic. Some storylines don't land as strongly as others.

Carrie Pilby2017

Both are stories about young women finding their place in the world through friendship and self-discovery, but Carrie Pilby approaches it from the inside—introspective, philosophical—while Nana is all external drama and collision.

A young woman navigates isolation, connection, and learning to be human in spite of her own brilliance. It's quiet and character-driven, funny without being light, and genuinely interested in how people get to know themselves.

But Indie coming-of-age with a modest budget. If you need plot momentum and stakes, this moves at its own meditative pace.