#SKIN DEEP COMIC SKIN#
Skin Deep plays like relationship counselling at its most extreme. Is our outlook on life determined by the body we have? Leyla is weighed down by insecurity and unhappiness, but all those cares are lifted as she inhabits Fabienne’s body. Tristan is just as reserved and uptight in Mo’s fleshier body, but that softens Mo’s harsh edges and makes him much more sympathetic. Some of this is played for broad comedy - Mo is just as insufferably macho and boorish in Tristan’s body, but now he has a six-pack to go with it. Not partner-swapping but body-swapping.Īs the body-swap unfolds, the central couple start to gain very different perspectives on their relationship. They have been chosen for a ritual involving participants being given the gift of experiencing the world in someone else’s body for the next two weeks.
Leyla and Tristan find themselves drawn to the loud, larger-than-life Mo (Dimitrij Schaad) and Fabienne (Maryam Zaree), who seems faintly amused by the whole business. There is a raffle in which each number selected is held by a couple. No wonder Tristram has asked, “What is this place?”Īn evening gathering of the oddball island residents encourages comparisons with the eccentricity of The Lobster. It has the look of a theatrical setting with its wooden beams, harlequin-coloured glass doors and gilt-edged mirrors. Leyla and Tristan are shown to their accommodation - a loft apartment that resembles a production designer’s dream assignment. The enchanted island could be a setting for The Tempest, and the ensuing tale of shifting identities and fragile emotions has a distinctly Shakespearean feel. Cinematographer Ahmed El Nagar ensures that proceedings are bathed in a warm, golden glow. The beautiful skies and magic-hour light add to the impression of a location filled with possibilities. We then meet Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) as they take a ferry to a remote island where they are greeted by Stella, Leyla’s friend since university days. Except the figure we see in the bed is a young woman - and the elderly man is called Stella (Edgar Selke). Schaad’s brother Dimitrij is the co-writer and co-star of a film that casts its spell from the opening shots, in which an elderly man discovers his father dead in bed. Skin Deep plays like relationship counselling at its most extreme Alex Schaad’s spiky, good-looking debut feature takes a clever concept and develops it into a witty, provocative exploration of identity, gender fluidity, sexuality and the pursuit of happiness. A world premiere in Venice Critics’ Week should earn it the profile that will start a chain of festival attention and arthouse interest. 103 mins.Ī body-swap film with a difference, Skin Deep has more in common with Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster than any variation on Freaky Friday. In 2008, he is one of the 6 directors who took part of the animation feature film "Peurs du noir" before going back in 2010 to the comics scene with "Toxic", the first part of a new trilogy.Source: Walker + Worm Film / Ahmed El Nagarĭir: Alex Schaad.
Using an extremely stylized graphism, mixing macabre visions and black humor, Burns re-interpret in his own way the great myths of the 50s american imperialism. In 1995, he embarked on the production of "Black Hole", an impressive graphic novel rewarded at the Angoulême festival in 2007. His talent then recognized, Burns produced more and more illustrations for different magazines, comics anthologies and record covers including the one for Iggy Pop's "Brick by brick". This stay gave him the opportunity to be known in Europe where his stories are translated and published by many editors. After collaborating on different underground publications, he settled down in Italy where he stayed from 1984 to 1986. From 1981 to 1991, he drew many short stories and illustrations for Raw, magazine created by Art Spiegelman.
While he produced a few comic strips, he also gave a try to experimental photography. Charles Burns was born in 1955 in Washington D.C.
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