In the cinema, we always hope to be creatively engaged in some way- to be pushed beyond the limits of our imagination, to see things afresh and, most of all, to be entertained. Of course, the measure of a good film is entirely subjective- even my criteria for cinema’s purpose itself is wide open to interpretation. Yet ever since first seeing Tacones Lejanos and Hable con Ella, I have been fixated by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s ability to open our eyes- to expose the madness behind love, the anxiety of identity, the silence behind loneliness. Masterpieces in Spanish cinema, these films are startlingly human, revealing a director with a keenly tender eye. His latest outing, La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In), marks a return to this human lyricism, only this time disguised as a haunting story of revenge- a horror film without the gore, blood or the screams yet no less disturbing. Loosely based on Thierry Jonquet’s Kafkaesque novel Tarantula, the film tells the story of manic Doctor Ledgard’s obsession with revenge. Creating a synthetic second skin for Vera, a mysterious woman imprisoned on his estate, he redefines her identity- one that holds her captive against her will. As the film shifts between present and past, Ledgard’s motives are eerily revealed- let’s just say Ledgard is not necessarily the story’s only villain, and Vera is not all who she seems. She holds the key to his obsession, and even though the plot twist was all too obvious (even to us, watching the film in its original rapid Spanish without subtitles) this did not prevent it from packing a real psychological punch. The house is a prison, one that incarcerated not only Vera but the audience as well, locking us into a thrilling world of unnerving macabre. Almodóvar beautifully treats Vera’s patient struggle to reclaim her identity- whilst his leads Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya impress as the possessed surgeon and his enigmatic human guinea pig. Be prepared: I found the first half an hour was torturous viewing (as usual, Almodóvar really goes in for the brutal, weird sex scenes...) After this, however, it is impossible to tear your eyes away, even when you want to. It may not be for the fainthearted, nor for those just looking for a gratuitous Hollywood blockbuster, but this film is definitely worth a watch. A visual feast, stamped with all the trademark Almodóvar fixations of murder, betrayal and sexual anxiety, my verdict is don’t miss it.
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