La piel que habito (2011) Reviews

• The impossible film to pitch. Horror at it's best.

  PPerugini2011-06-22

  "The Skin I Live In" is, like most films by the Spanish director a film that cannot be pitched or explained in a few sentences. I am reminded of his superb work in "Talk to her" and "All about my mother". "Talk to her" was a love story between a woman in a coma and her rapist while Mother was a film about a nun with AIDS, a transvestite with a hearth of gold and a woman searching for her son's heart. In one sentence Almodovar's films all sound twisted at best. But in the hands of a master they are beautiful works of art. Same goes for "The Skin I Live In". In a sentence (like many who haven't watched the film are quick to point out) the film sounds creepy at best and deals with a plot that makes most uncomfortable. A plastic surgeon (Banderas) belongs to family straight out of Pasolini's Salo. He keeps a beautiful woman (Anaya) as a guinea pig and he tries to create a new kind of skin. But Anaya's character, in what seems the major metaphor of the film, preserves her inner persona intact regardless of what happens to her body. As in most of Almodovar's films the layers become more complex as the movie evolves and towards the end of the film there's a plot twist only Freud could have come up with. Without spoilers I would like to point out that the director seems to use horror as a channel to explore the violation of every moral code embodied by the characters. With a magnificent score by Alberto Iglesias, Almodovar tries for a difficult genre and it pays off. The set design and cinematography, as always with Pedro's films is superb. At Canes the reception of the film was mixed an I can understand why. It simply isn't an easy movie to watch. For those who don't seem to have a problem with American horror movies where teens are stalked, raped and cut into little pieces by a chainsaw but are horrified by "The Skin I live In" I have a suggestion: Let's remember that fiction is indeed the only place when one can deal with horror and gore as metaphors for our human flaws, a place where we don't have to hide from our demons but we get to talk to them, a place where sickness gets no one hurt... Like Hitchcock used to say: It is only a movie, dear.

• Interesting and twisted Almodovar picture about a doctor attempting to synthesize the perfect skin with unexpected consequences

  ma-cortes2018-02-12

  Nice Almodóvar film revolving around a a nutty doctor (Antonio Banderas) who creates a type of synthetic skin and attempts to remake the bruised body of beloved beings , then , he kidnaps people . Moody terror movie about a mad doctor , assisted by a maid (Marisa Paredes) , removes the structure of a gorgeous women and attempts to graft her skin onto her body . His guinea pig results to be a brave and rebel girl (Elena Anaya) , but this patient is very closely linked to dramatic deeds from past he would like to forget , then things go wrong . Austerily wonderful mysterious film that contains intense drama , thrills , chills , and haunting poetic fantasy . In this enjoyable as well as eerie flick , Almodóvar established again his uniquely poetic and visually striking style , though imitating to classy "Eyes Without A Face" (1960) , the masterpiece directed by George Franju . This is a similar story but revisited by Pedro with his ordinary roles and situations , including rape , kink sex , strong love scenes and marvelous actresses . This splendid Spanish production is generally characterized by unforgettable images that owed a great deal to early cinema in general . Engaging and twisted script Pedro Almodóvar based on Thierry Jonquet's novel . Pedro worked on the script for almost a decade, and what initially was a retelling ended up being more of an inspired tale . The story is not massively strong , but it is not bad either , as Almodóvar strings a few o different threads together and that , along with tension and skin going on throughout tends to ensure the movie is always interesting and thrilling . The music by Oscar winner Alberto Iglesias , Almodovar's regular , is good in which it fits the style and feeling of the film . Luxurious and colorful cinematography by the prestigious José Luis Alcaine .The cast is also standout element of the film , as Pedro recasts Banderas in the character of unsettling doctor . Antonio Banderas is brilliant as a disturbing researcher/scientific/surgeon haunted by past tragedy who takes people removing their faces and attempts to graft them new skins . Support cast is frankly good , such as : Roberto Álamo , Eduard Fernández , Barbara Lennie , José Luis Gómez , Jan Cornet , Blanca Suárez , Susi Sánchez , Fernando Cayo . And brief appearance , as usual , by Agustin Almodóvar , Pedro's brother and film producer . . This issue about a doctor who attempts to remake the bruised face of intimate people has been treated several times in the European cinema , such as : ¨Eyes without a face¨ (1960) by George Franju , ¨The windmill of the stone women¨ by Giorgo Ferroni . And especially by the prolific writer/producer/director Jesús Franco who shot : The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962) deemed to be the first movie of the ¨Spanish Fantaterror¨ and following a long series as El Secreto del Dr. Orloff (1964) aka "The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll" - USA . It's gone on by " Orloff y el hombre invisible (1970) aka "Dr. Orloff's Invisible Monster" , ¨Ojos siniestros de Doctor Orloff¨(1973) . Furthermore , El enigma Del Ataúd (1969) aka "Only a Coffin" and El Siniestro doctor Orloff (1984) aka "The Sinister Dr. Orloff . Finally in ¨Faceless¨ or Depredadores de Noche¨(1987) .

• A disturbing and thought provoking film

  runamokprods2011-11-22

  A fascinating and powerful departure for Almodovar, or perhaps more accurately more an terrific hybrid of the best of his old and new. This has the darker, more actively perversely disturbing and violent themes of some of his early work like 'Matador' but shot and directed with the far smoother and more mature hand he has developed over the years. It also uses the more complex and fractured time structure style of Almodovar's more recent work, to great effect. In the end its a gorgeous looking, philosophically complex mystery and horror film. Although not gory, this is a disturbing work, both on a literal story level, and also for the questions it raises about identity, love, sado-masochism, and passion run amok. These themes are all Almodovar touchstones, but delivered here with a visually stunning icy touch, and with much more complete logic than in his early works, which often felt less fully thought through, and had more frustrating plot holes and character leaps. Not a 'scary' film, but a creepy, moody and highly effective one. A dark fairy tale as told by, say Stanley Kubrick. It's good to see Antonio Banderas reunited with Almodovar, and he delivers a wonderfully complex and quirky modern day Dr. Frankenstein. Less emotional than my two very favorite Almodovar films (Talk to Her, All About My Mother), but its exciting to see this extremely talented film maker continue to evolve and grow, and I think this represents work that can stand among his best.

• It will make your skin crawl...

  the_rattlesnake252011-08-25

  Pedro Almodovar is not a conventional filmmaker by any means. His films openly explore subjects many acclaimed directors fear to tread and absorb in their whole entire careers, but what is always guaranteed with Almodovar is a sense of wonderment and the unexpected, and 'The Skin I Live In' ('La piel que habito') is no different. Based briefly on Thierry Jonquet's 2003 novel 'Mygale,' Almodovar's latest film is a delightful and refreshing combination of multiple genres including drama, thriller and body horror. It's shockingly sincere, beautifully horrifying and has an appeal that will keep the audiences eyes locked towards the events on-screen until the final credits roll. Dr Robert Lesgard (Antonio Banderas) is a renowned surgeon who is attempting to achieve a breakthrough in bio-medical sciences by creating a synthetic skin through transgenisis. Classified as a horrific mutation by some, and acknowledged by Robert as an innovation, his experiments come at a price. His human test subject is a beautiful woman named Vera (Elena Anaya) who is contained within his home, and cared for by his head servant Marilia (Marisa Paredes). Vera is not like other women, she wears a skin-coloured suit made out of fabric instead of clothes, she is constantly watched by Robert and Marilia, and she never leaves her room, which only Robert himself holds the key too. What follows is a startling journey of discovery as the narrative unravels a story of disturbing past, present and future events; transforming the lives of all those involved. Beginning in Toldeo in 2012, Almodovar utilizes a constantly underused and under-appreciated device in the nonlinear narrative. He provides the audience with one perception of each character before returning in flashback during the second act to six years previously where further events are explained and through this, the audience's initial observations of the characters become undermined and drastically altered. He then digresses between past and present at will building a comprehensive picture of each character involved as the story develops revealing some startling and disturbing discoveries. This decision to structure the film in this way, also adequately supplements Almodovar's need to explore his key themes including sexual identity, and the nature of the moral of ethics of the human soul after it has been literally stripped bare. Coupled with the beautiful cinematography from Almodovar's long-time collaborator Jose Luis Alcaine and an original and complimentary score by Alberto Iglesias, 'The Skin I Live In' also becomes an example of technically proficient filmmaking which works alongside the performances of the likes of Banderas and Anaya, as well as the slickly written script which keeps the audience on their toes until the final curtain has been dropped. Pedro Almodovar is undoubtedly one of the most successful auteurs of the last few decades, and with 'The Skin I Live In' he shows that he can almost touch upon a new genre, in the form of body horror genre-hybrid, whilst also retaining all the previous elements, themes and techniques which have made his films the deep-seated critically successful films that they are.

• Almodovar does body horror...but not really

  chaaa2011-08-25

  As a longtime fan of Pedro Almodovar's films, I will admit the trailer for his latest film The Skin I Live In left me somewhat baffled. Having now seen the film however, I see the method in his madness. The trailer tells you little or nothing about the film but bombards the viewer with crazy images which are in retrospect probably designed to confuse. The trailer serves the purpose of telling the viewer very little of what the film is about while titillating with striking visuals. A bold move but an effective one, because the less you know about this film going in the better. With that in mind, I'll keep this review short and will try not to give anything away. Antonio Banderas plays a rather unhinged scientist who is keeping a beautiful young woman prisoner in his home while using her as a human guinea pig for a new type of synthetic human skin. That's about as much information as you need. As the story unfolds, petal by petal in that flower-like way we've become accustomed to seeing from Almodovar, each scene adds wonder and flavour to an already robust set-up. Moving at a break-neck pace, not a frame is without beauty and not a second is wasted without pushing the story along. This screenplay is extremely polished and beautifully nuanced. As usual, cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine delivers beautifully vibrant visuals, but unlike other Almodovar films, this palette is decidedly less colourful, sticking mainly to Cronenbergian metallic colours fused with fleshy tones but with the odd gash of vibrant colour. It is as beautiful to behold as any other Almodovar film, but perhaps less garish. In a film that relies on ambiguity in so many ways the cast here must be commended. Delicate balances are achieved by all concerned and it's wonderful to see Antonio Banderas settling into the rather unsettling role of Dr. Robert Ledgard. He exudes the same charisma and sexual bravura that made him famous but without the least whiff of sex symbol status coming through in the performance. He is creepy, strangely alluring and underplays the "mad scientist" bit admirably. Elena Anayas also impresses in a very challenging performance both physically and emotionally, both of which are perfectly effective as her story unfolds. A brilliant character who may not have been so impressive in the hands of a less capable actress. The camera intimately caresses her face and body throughout and she steadfastly rises to the challenge of being as beautiful a muse as a director could ask for. It is unlikely that Almodovar will win over any new fans with The Skin I Live In but he will surely satisfy his already massive fanbase. A dark, thoughtful, frightening piece but never shying away from the heights of melodrama that Almodovar is known for, this sits beautifully on the line between Cronenberg at his best and a crazy soap opera. Unique, Gothic and delightfully melodramatic! I love it! http://charlenefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/skin-i-live-in.html