A seemingly harmonious trio, until a violent interlocutor arrives. When he is dispatched, one can almost see the finish of a sharp, witty (and short) Almodóvar film, but it’s here that La piel starts on a series of unsettling flashbacks, turning from a wonderful homage to Hollywood (something Almodóvar does quite often) to a series of questions on gender and moral issues.
Rape is the initial crime in the second part of the film - how far can one go to exact revenge when such evil occurs? Can there be an evil that outweighs it? Does that also deserve revenge?
But Almodóvar carefully turns us from thinking so simply by moving on to another rather surprising violation, as Robert begins to construct his own human being – a creation that may or may not have already existed – and when it comes to gender, construction is the operative word.
Almodóvar choreographs a riveting dance in which identity and gender are pulled away from each other, a dance that will leave you stripped of anything that you thought belonged to you.
La piel que habito | (Die Haut, in der ich wohne) D: Pedro Almodóvar (Spain 2011) with Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya. Starts October 20th
October 20, 2011 9:00 AM
Latest Comments
Thanks very much!!!
Posted by
Walter Crasshole
October 21, 2011 19:27:00
yes!
Posted by
undefined
October 20, 2011 21:22:26