The Skin I Live In is a 2011 Spanish film by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paderes and Roberto Álamo. When a doctor operates on his patient, it may be not voluntarily. Celebrating Almódovar’s 75th birthday month and the 13th anniversary of the film, we present “La Piel Que Habito.”
Robert Ledgard (played by Banderas) is an outstanding surgeon. Over the course of his career, he has had many accomplishments. His latest burden; rebuilding burn tissue.
The medical branch is precise. Before a newfound prescription or product reaches the market, the protocol requires the following steps:
- Testing: A pharmaceutical lab needs to conduct lots of data. This requires a lot of collections and samples.
- Patients: Tests are not applied directly to humans. That is, animals (i.e. rats) are often used as samples.
- Product: After a positive outcome of testing and sampling, the newfound product reaches the masses.
Luckily for Dr. Ledgard, he has found a human willing to serve as an experimental use, named Vera Cruz (Anaya). She lives in an isolated room of the clinic named “El Cigarral.” Inside, she has the day-to-day essentials (i.e., bed, TV, exercising equipment).
While in isolation, she has found meditation through yoga. In addition, her servant, Marilia (Paredes), is in charge of serving Vera three meals per day.
On the other hand, Vicente (Cornet) is a teenager living in Toledo, Spain. His mother owns a clothing shop where he lends a helping hand. One evening, he attends a wedding celebration. After too many, he hooks up with a young woman and forces himself onto her.
The Skin I Live In
While the screen time keeps rolling, the viewer learns that Dr. Ledgard is a widow and has lost his beloved daughter. In addition, Vera is not at the clinic by her own will.
So, what is the main reason for her captivity? Most importantly, what do Vera and Vicente have in common?
Not only is “The Skin I Live In” a twisted experiment in the mind of director Pedro Almodóvar. Oddly enough, the testing (the script) and the patients (the actors) mix well for the final product (the film) to be released to the masses (Cannes Film Festival).
Indeed, Pedro Almodóvar’s experiments have generated positive reviews. For instance, his films “Julieta” and “The Skin I Live In” have won the Goya Awards for “Best Actresses” for Emma Suárez and Elena Anaya, respectively.
Watch the twisted experiment by Pedro Almodóvar in the link below.
- “The Skin I Live In” movie. Directed by Pedro Almodóvar (El Deseo, WB. Entertainment España, 2011). ↩︎
