Skin I Live In

Skin I Live In, The

(La Piel Que Habito)

Year 2011
Runtime 117 mins
Language Spanish
Subtitles English
Alberta Premiere

Dominated as it is by macabre obsessions and mad science, THE SKIN I LIVE IN may seem like a departure for writer-director Pedro Almodóvar. But the film, adapted from a novel by Thierry Jonquet, is perfectly in keeping for the man behind such acclaimed films as TALK TO HER, VOLVER and 2009's BROKEN EMBRACES. Like those films, THE SKIN I LIVE IN is fixated on sex, death and betrayal. And while it flirts with the aesthetics of horror and science fiction, SKIN is every bit as vividly realized as anything Almodóvar has offered to date.

For the first time in 21 years, Almodóvar  re-teams with actor Antonio Banderas, who takes on the role of Robert Ledgard, a surgeon who has developed a burn-proof skin tissue. As the film unfolds, Ledgard's motivations will come into question, and so will his relationships to his assistant, Marilla (Marisa Paredes) and to the young woman (Elena Anaya) who appears to be a prisoner in his estate.

Described by Almodóvar as “a horror story without screams or frights,” THE SKIN I LIVE IN is as unsettling as it is beautiful, connecting a tangled web of influences into a truly singular film – the kind of film that could only come from Spain's mad scientist of the cinema.

Countries

Spain
Awards
Nominated, Palme D'Or, Cannes Film Festival 2011
Festivals
Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2011
Official Selection Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2011
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2011
Director
Pedro Almodóvar
Producer
Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar
Screenwriter
Pedro Almodóvar
Cinematographer
José Luis Alcaine
Editor
José Salcedo
Production Design
Antxón Gómez
Music
Alberto Iglesias
Cast
Antonio Banderas,
Elena Anaya,
Jan Cornet