The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 104 minuten
Alternative title: L'Homme Qui Avait Vendu Sa Peau
Country:
Tunisia / France / Belgium / Germany / Sweden / Qatar / Cyprus / Turkey
Directed by: Kaouther Ben Hania
Stars: Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw and Yahya Mahayni
IMDb score:
6,9 (7.743)
Releasedate: 15 March 2021
The Man Who Sold His Skin plot
"What price would you pay for freedom?"
Syrian Sam Ali has gone to Lebanon in an attempt to flee the civil war in his homeland. There he meets the famous American artist Jeffrey Godefroi from whom he gets a tattoo. As a result, Sam becomes a living work of art that is worth a lot on the market and auction. However, the young man does not want to be a masterpiece, but to be seen as a human being again.
Actors and actresses
Sam Ali
Abeer
Jeffrey Godefroi
Soraya Waldy
Ziad
Sam’s mother
Hazem
William
Marc Sheen
Sam’s sister
Reviews & comments
BBarbie
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- 12893 messages
- 7675 votes
When you are no longer seen as a person but as an art object, traveling within Europe is no problem. This sneer at European migration policy is the starting point of this film with an original story in my opinion.
It's an entertaining ironic drama about a Syrian refugee, who has to stop being human in order to be reunited with his beloved . It could hardly be otherwise here that the controversial West Flemish artist Wim Delvoye also acted as a source of inspiration. His famous tattooed pigs also appear briefly. In the film, Delvoye herself plays a supporting role as an insurance agent.
Translated from Dutch · View original
De filosoof
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- 2489 messages
- 1700 votes
A Syrian refugee can legally travel to Europe because an artist has a visa tattooed on his back, turning him into a work of art that would make him no longer subject to immigration rules (I wonder if that's the case), but then to the problem that as a work of art he still cannot enjoy human rights (he is even sold so that only human trafficking is legalized). The film thus has a nice idea as a starting point and has a politically critical message about how we deal with refugees, but otherwise has little to do and the story is not very interesting. The romantic thread is clichéd both as an addition and how it develops. The plot twist at the end is fun. The idea of the film as well as some other elements are incidentally – as is acknowledged in the credits – borrowed from the work of the Flemish artist Wim Delvoye who, among other things, tattooed pigs so that they could no longer be slaughtered as a work of art.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10013 messages
- 4679 votes
Strong. Thought this was a good movie. Sam Ali and his tattoo symbolize the dehumanization of refugees. It is mainly about how the west looks at these people. Are they worth less as human beings? What makes them worth less? The value of a human life is depicted here by means of a precious tattoo, as a result of which Sam Ali is exhibited as an object in museums. The valuable back is more important than the face of reality. Ali looking in the mirror and seeing his back is a very strong image. The whole setup is also reminiscent of the human zoo at the time of Belgian colonization in Congo, when natives were shown behind fences at the world expo.
I didn't think the love story was that bad and is handled well. That's the reason why he just got that tattoo... to be able to move to Belgium and get closer to his beloved. What is weaker is the happy ending... for me a more bitter ending like an execution by IS would have had more impact. On the other hand, I felt sorry for Sam Ali and I might have thought that was a great pity.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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