Em Minha Pele

The Belcourt Cinema in Nashville warned ticket holders that they would not get a refund if they left the theater as In My Skin, a creepy French quasi-horror film about a girl who cuts into her body, played -- no matter how much they protested. Three people left the theater and one girl looked to be crying. I got light-headed, my forehead felt hot, my stomach wanted to void its contents, and my brain wanted me to flee -- and that was when she went to see the doctor about the cut on her leg. (I had to close my eyes and calm my thoughts for about a minute.) The wound was nasty but it was nothing compared to what she did to herself later. Most of the cutting happened off-camera which on made her actions more gruesome because the imagination had been activated. Just the sound alone was enough to make me cringe. When I slept later that night a nightmare haunted me. My leg was craved of all it flesh and muscle until nothing was left but bone. Yes, this movie truly disturbed me worse than anything I've ever seen. Worse than Texas Chain Saw Massacre or Hellraiser -- mainly because In My Skin was done as a real film. No, serial killers or demons from Hell, just a girl with mental problems.

Disturbing as "In My Skin" is, the movie frequently pops into my mind. Looking at the film on the surface, I was disturbed by the imagery, as apparently were the other people in the theatre who all left before the movie was over.

This is a movie that, much like "Groundhog Day," might be best used for cinema therapy. On the surface, we see a woman who develops an unusual predilection for self-mutilation. Looking deeper though, I saw a woman who became consumed by her addictions. We would not have been as affected if she had "merely" been an alcoholic, a drug abuser, an anorexic or bulimic.

The woman's self-mutilation becomes a metaphor for any number of other self-destructive behaviors. Her self-mutilation is never seen by her friends or family. Similar to someone with anorexia wearing baggy clothes or a drug addict hiding their pain to the point where people would say, "Wow--I would have never suspected her/him to have that problem."

"In My Skin," lays out a plausible timeline for an addiction. Surely, the woman's friends and family in the film would spend hours later determining what they actually saw or thought they knew or wish they knew about the woman and her addictive behaviors.

"In My Skin" is very very powerful and uses a very disturbing metaphor that if people allowed themselves the chance to see and take the time to discuss, could be very influential long term.

This is a movie made with the confidence of one who knows exactly what she is trying to communicate. The problem is that what is being communicated is so far beyond the norm that it is not going to be easily grasped. Esther is a highly intelligent young woman. The main thread of the story begins when she accidentally injures herself. Through the injury she begins to see her herself as merely meat, an object. Meat can not suffer, has no emotions, has no ambitions, is immune to the pressures and pettiness of everyday life. She finds this release increasingly more fascinating and attractive. This is not something she can communicate to anyone around her so she explores it in secret attempting to finally exist as a mere object devoid of all humanity. Her loneliness adds a cutting edge of sadness to the story. If she found the right person to share her thoughts with we may have ended up with an equally bizarre love story.

I found it difficult to watch this movie all the way through without a break. Some of my friends have not even managed to watch it past the first twenty minutes. If you do manage to sit through this movie, I am pretty sure that not only will you thereafter remember it vividly, you will also find it hard to stop talking about it.

"In My Skin" is considered by many horror fans as the most disturbing film ever made.I really don't know why,because I have seen much more graphic scenes of self-mutilation in "Cutting Moments" and Japanese "Naked Blood".It's still an excellent and deeply unsettling piece of horror.A young woman named Esther(Marina de Van)indulges in self-mutilation.She starts cutting herself and keeping pieces of her own flesh in her purse.However "In My Skin" refuses to explain Esther's behavior.At first we are led to believe that Esther cuts herself because she feels nothing else in her life,but I'm not really sure that this is the point.Anyway,the performance of the lead actress Marina de Van is excellent and the gore effects are quite good.So if you like transgressive cinema give it a look,but if you're easily offended don't watch it.8 out of 10.

Dark film about a woman who becomes fascinated with her skin and self mutilation after an accident leaves her with a wound. Graphic and tough to sit through the film raises the spotlight on an extreme form of behavior that in milder forms can lead to people cutting themselves. What makes things more disturbing is the behavior isn't explained, it just is. I liked the film, as much as one can, however I was disappointed in that the film just sort of ended. Clearly its a character study more then a narrative, but at the same time I didn't get anything out of it, I just finished the film with a sense of "thats it?" Recommended only for those with strong constitutions and those wishing to be disturbed