CIFF Review: The Skin I Live In (2011)
by Ainsley Barteluk
The Skin I Live In screened on Sept 29 at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Before the film commenced, one of the festival volunteers warned that lot of people walked out of the theatre during the screening of The Skin I Live In at Toronto’s
The Skin I Live In still
International Film Festival. This is why I hesitate before writing what I thought of Pablo Almodóvar’s latest film. Usually when I come across a cinematic masterpiece such as this, the first thing I’ll tell someone is: “it was so good!” In this case these words feel completely inappropriate. Of Almodóvar’s films, this one is definitely the boldest, and I for one am happy that he was so bold. Packed with twisted demented elements that were nauseating and utterly terrifying, it’s also somehow his most enthralling film. In all honesty, I was shocked at what I saw, though it never even occurred to me to leave the theatre. I was so absorbed that I couldn’t look away—I became obsessed with knowing how it would end.
The film is based on the novel Tarantula (Serpent’s Tail) by Thierry Jonquet, who is famous for writing crime novels. Set in modern day Spain, we meet Robert Ledgard (Antonio Bandaras), a highly successful surgeon who secretly uses human beings as guinea pigs in his goal to invent a mutation of human skin that will be fireproof and essentially resistant to any kind of damage. His wife was killed in a fire and thus serves as his motivation, though as the story unfolds it’s clear Ledgard has been through a lot in his life that would drive him to act like a mad scientist.
As I mentioned earlier, I found this film to be a masterpiece and I’ll stand by that for various reasons. Visually, the film is put together so well that even if you disliked the film you couldn’t argue that it wasn’t well done. The quality of the visuals and cinematography definitely elevates Almodóvar to the level of Tim Burton and Baz Luhrman. One of the “guinea pigs” makes these dolls out of her clothes in her cell to pass the time and the dolls definitely had a Tim Burton feel to them. So did the overall dark feeling of the film. As for Bandaras, his performance was easy and brilliant. I’d really like to see him act more. Honestly I think he could have been a Latino Johnny Depp if only he’d give more performances like this one. It’s up to the audience to decide whether his character is evil or just crazy. Personally I think it’s just unfortunate events in his life that have driven him crazy and that’s why he acts the way he does. Another thing I loved about the film is the music; it’s perfectly matched to the fast pace and edginess of the film. My favorite was an incredibly compelling remake of the Elliot Smith song “Between the Bars”. I could go on forever about what I loved about the film, though given its crude nature I can see why people walked out of the theatre.
I need to make one thing clear: I’m not trying to sensationalize the film by re-emphasizing that people walked out of the theatre. Genre-wise, this film makes even some of the creepiest psychological thrillers–like Being John Malkovich (1999)–look ordinary. There are good and bad things that come with the horrifying events portrayed on the screen. As with many of Almodóvar’s films, the story is a puzzle. For me, I found it to be so mesmerizing that I was willing to endure some of the more violent and disturbing scenes because it is just so satisfying to watch the pieces of the story come together. Indeed, this movie is so absorbing I began to feel trapped in it. At one point it began to feel like sex could never be anything but violent, dirty, wrong and exploitative. It was enough to make my skin crawl, and I promise there wasn’t a single person in that theatre that did not have a strong reaction to this film. One thing is for sure, I’ve never seen anything like this. I guarantee you haven’t either.
