The Skin I Live In Post-Release

I don't think Almodovar has ever done anything like this before, so I have no idea where you should go. I would just move chronologically, since he definitely steps up his craft every time out.

I loved how twisted and Hitchcockian this was, combined with Almodovar's digressive tendencies (TIGER SUIT!). But I'm still not certain if it earns that ending, which I would say we should discuss if we could get some more asses into this thread.

So here's the thing; I caught this at my local art house theater yesterday. Now as much as I really loved this (particularly for its rather lovely direction: Almodovar of course just continues to impress), I was totally shocked by the direction the film took once Vincente's full role in the story was made clear... mainly because I just saw this IDENTICAL story done almost verbatim in another film just three months ago.

For anyone who just saw The Skin I Live In, may I direct you to a pretty twisted (and as far as I can tell extremely obscure) little horror gem called Victim that just came out about a year ago. Now there are of course several major differences between the two films; they have completely different tones for one (Skin goes for a much more elegant, classy feel, while Victim opts to attempt a more grungy/dirty execution), and there are numerous story points that are different (Victim jumps back and forth in its timeline a little bit, but nowhere remotely near to the same extent that Skin does). But much of the core skeleton of the narrative (as well as some individual story beats, narrative details, and even certain exact scenes, up to and including the friggin endings) is virtually identical, almost to the point where you have to wonder if one of the two filmmakers was somehow ripping off the other.

Granted that's very, very likely not the case at all, and its probably just a damned freaky coincidence... but holy shit what were the odds of such a very specific (and warped) premise not only being done by two completely unrelated films within roughly the same time frame, but for so much of the execution and narrative in several key areas to be so eerily similar? Seriously though, anyone who saw and loved Skin should most definitely give Victim a go. The two films would if nothing else definitely make for a damned fascinating (and utterly demented) double feature.

I'd love to go into much more detail comparing the two films, and I know this is a post-release thread, but I still wasn't sure how hog wild I should go on spoilers just yet since the thread just barely got started here.

But yeah, weird coincidence aside, great film here.

Hm, never heard of "Victim." Thanks for the heads-up.

Considering how good this movie was, im shocked by the lack of discussion! I just rented it tonight. I have to say i absolutely loved it...even though I was incredibly disturbed by the twist. Holy hell.

On a conceptual level, there's a lot at work in THE SKIN I LIVE IN, and the stylistic work is impressive, but the film remains a bit too cold for my liking. If the film had entered into the subjective experience of the characters more than it did, I think I would have enjoyed it more.