Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar)

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Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 11-13-2011, 09:04 PM:

Nov. 11, 2011 at the Kew Gardens Theatre #4

Almodovar's latest is perhaps his wierdest, and hard to classify
since it combines several genres.
A smooth, unflappable high-tech plastic surgeon (played by Antinio Banderas) uses his lab research skills on the one hand to develop a synthetic skin to eradicate malaria (a most far-fetched implausability) and on the other,to conduct Dr. Frankenstein-like forcible transgendering operations.

As in all Almodovar films, the characters are not who they seem, and by the end of the film nearly everyone is related to each other in unsuspected ways that would keep Cain & Abel, Oedipus and Medea guessing.

The women, especially one kept prisoner and subjected to sexual and surgical violence, is of course beautiful, played by Elena Anaya.

The sex is brutal, the photography exacting and artful, the motivations primal and the pacing varies from swift to yoga-meditative.

I found this film hard and sometimes painful to watch. At times a murder mystery, a sci-fi thriller and a non-erotic
sex tease, I found it too complicated to be really successful,
and not up to the other Almodovar films I have seen.

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 11-14-2011, 01:45 PM:

add to the mix 'horror' Almodovar mentioned in Sight & Sound that he really want to mix a whole bunch of genres together for this film. I really liked this film.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 12-19-2011, 10:12 PM:

Folks:

Excellent film. Very interesting and compelling. As mentioned previously, it is also very strange.

Mike