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The Skin I Live In



The Skin I Live In (2011)
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Writers: Thierry Jonquet (novel), Pedro Almodóvar (Screenplay)
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet
Genre: Thriller Drama Horror
Language: Spanish


"A brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession."

Wow, that was weird, a really weird film!...Nothing at all like I had expected. I went into this blind and I didn't know what to expect...except I thought it might be visually graphic & gross, which it wasn't.

I have to say subjectively this is an excellent made film with some uncomfortable subject matter that's presented quite seamlessly. I can see why people would really like this. Objectively it's not the type of film I usually watch, though the second to last 'payback' scene was just desserts! I don't think I've ever more wanted to see two evil characters get what they deserved than here in this film. I'm so glad for that scene, it felt like redemption.

I liked the pacing and the art design of the sets too. Everything was very professional and artistically done, nothing seemed rushed. I like how that screen shot that I used...mirrors a nude painting that hangs in the doctors house. I thought that was pretty creative. So was the breakfast scene where the doctor has a small bottle of syrup he pours on his waffles and then licks the bottle, then the maid brings a bigger bottle which turns out to be blood. I don't know why but I thought that was ingenious.

The Skin I Live In, can be interpreted many different ways and films that are open to interpretation are often rewarding in that they allow us to think about the subject matter, as oppose to just watching it. My take on the film was that: *Spoiler... I get the idea from the last scene in the clothing store, that the man in the beginning of the story might have had different gender identity feelings already present, so that in the end his/her fate didn't seem so horrible as she still loved the other woman and now has a chance at a relationship with her. That's how I interpret the film, but those points are left vague so can be interpreted differently.