The Skin I Live In
4/5 Globes
By Matt Kieltyka
Metro
On the surface, The Skin I Live In is a bit of an odd choice to open the Vancouver International Film Festival.
While Spanish director Pedro Almodovar may well be the biggest name attached to this year’s festival, his latest film – a meticulous thriller staring Antonio Benderas as troubled plastic surgeon
Robert Ledgard – doesn’t fit in with VIFF’s traditional pillars.
It’s not a Canadian production, nor an East Asian one for that matter.
But there’s more to it’s selection than the skin-deep first assumption.
The Skin I Live In embodies everything cinema buffs look for.
The film itself is masterfully shot, well acted and its scattered chronology weaves a complex tale that keeps the audience guessing.
More than anything, the film evokes an emotional response.
For different viewers, The Skin I Live In elicits sympathy, compassion and intrigue early before completely flipping to shock, horror and possibly even disgust once Almodovar starts pulling back the curtain on Ledgard’s strange unfolding mystery.
However you feel at the end, you will feel something. This is a movie guaranteed to make your skin crawl and keep you thinking about it long after the final credits.
Desert Riders
4/5 Globes
By Chelsea Atlice
For Metro
Watching Vic Sarin’s latest documentary Desert Riders was an eye-opening experience.
Thanks to the expendable wealth of the United Arab Emirates to solve problems with money, the issue of child trafficking for camel jockeying is a hushed subject but Sarin brings their highly shocking and emotive stories to the big screen.
The documentary explores the inhumane treatment of boys, some as young as three, who are taken from their homes to jockey for the Middle Eastern tradition of camel racing.
The film does not point fingers or place blame but provides a balanced insight into the problems that have come from child camel jockeying.
He also shows what has been done to prevent child jockeying leaving its audience with a sense of hope – a welcome change to dark subject documentaries.
White
2.5/5 Globes
By Phylicia Torrevillas
Metro
Twin brothers Kim Sun and Kim Gok’s Korean pop-meets-horror film, White, will leave you wanting more scare value.
The film encapsulates their hatred of the pop-music industry, including bad-girl tantrums and shady behind-the-scenes dealings.
Girl group Pink Dolls are getting eaten alive by other popular idols. When they move into a new studio and release a song they “found” called White, they become instant sensations.
But all hell breaks loose and the clichés start pouring in, as jealousy and competitiveness arise as the girls fight for the main spot.
The ghostly baggage and curse of the song start causing havoc on each member.
Group leader Eun-ju realizes the song is cursed and tries to reveal its secret.
The mystery behind White seems to work, but the horror aspect needs a little more than the typical scare tactics.
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