Today I went to the annual showing of the Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts. I've gone to these showings for at least a decade and must admit that this year's batch was the most god-awful films....all of them very depressing and a few so depressing that I left the theater wanting to shoot myself!!
I should point out that Guy Nattiv has TWO films called "Skin" and both of which came out in 2018!! Despite some reports that this film is a shortened version of the other, it is NOT....and both are entirely separate stories. Some news sources have inaccurately reported that they are essentially the same.
As far as the films went, I found myself very disturbed by the audience's reaction to "Skin". While I did not consider the film to be a comedy (especially since it is based on a similar story that turns out to be true!), many in the audience today laughed at the ironic ending. To me, this is very disturbing. Sure, the man who died at the end was scum, but it still was death....and laughing at it because he was a reprehensible racist seemed pretty sad to me.
The story is tough to watch...very tough. The family shown in the film is sick and easy to hate. While the parents obviously love their child, they also are avowed white supremacist nuts who live for hate and guns and violence. Not surprisingly, the father eventually ends up nearly beating an innocent black man to death. He and his friends beat the man unmercifully...and it is VERY hard to watch. Likewise, when he gets what he's earned at the end of the film, it is STILL hard to watch. My advice is that if you've been a crime victim, think twice about watching the movie....it's ROUGH.
So is it any good? Yes. Even with the film apparently making the audience LIKE seeing a horrible racist horribly killed, I must admit that it was well made. And, I appreciate the acting....it's got to be tough to play people that horrible and hate-filled. But of the five films, I also consider it among the weakest. I've heard that much of the Oscar buzz is about this short....I just cannot see it. Well made....but I have seen many, many shorts more deserving of this top honor.
I should point out that Guy Nattiv has TWO films called "Skin" and both of which came out in 2018!! Despite some reports that this film is a shortened version of the other, it is NOT....and both are entirely separate stories. Some news sources have inaccurately reported that they are essentially the same.
As far as the films went, I found myself very disturbed by the audience's reaction to "Skin". While I did not consider the film to be a comedy (especially since it is based on a similar story that turns out to be true!), many in the audience today laughed at the ironic ending. To me, this is very disturbing. Sure, the man who died at the end was scum, but it still was death....and laughing at it because he was a reprehensible racist seemed pretty sad to me.
The story is tough to watch...very tough. The family shown in the film is sick and easy to hate. While the parents obviously love their child, they also are avowed white supremacist nuts who live for hate and guns and violence. Not surprisingly, the father eventually ends up nearly beating an innocent black man to death. He and his friends beat the man unmercifully...and it is VERY hard to watch. Likewise, when he gets what he's earned at the end of the film, it is STILL hard to watch. My advice is that if you've been a crime victim, think twice about watching the movie....it's ROUGH.
So is it any good? Yes. Even with the film apparently making the audience LIKE seeing a horrible racist horribly killed, I must admit that it was well made. And, I appreciate the acting....it's got to be tough to play people that horrible and hate-filled. But of the five films, I also consider it among the weakest. I've heard that much of the Oscar buzz is about this short....I just cannot see it. Well made....but I have seen many, many shorts more deserving of this top honor.