What I find interesting, is that in almost all the stories in the Under the skin there are heroes - artists.
False artists - parasites, who steal other people's faces.
True artists - usually crushed or pressed by the system they live in.
And even the little girl in the drama is an artist. And precisely because Shen Yi is an artist too, he is the first to hear her mute cry.
And after all, at first glance, her family is quite ordinary - but in reality everything in this family is a lie .
And the girl looks fine. Smiling, enjoying the little things. But inside her - a storm and suffocation.
Doesn't it remind us of another smiling artist who looks like he's okay?
And so I think about whether the artist reflects in each character some repressed parts of the soul of Shen Yi himself. The fragments that he has yet to collect
Under the Skin, directed by Jonathan Glazer, is a science fiction film, but it is so much more than just an alien invasion. It is a demonstration of the development of human nature, but as it is from the unique perspective of an alien, it allows us to see ourselves how an outsider of our world would.
The film follows an alien creature, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, who goes by the name of Laura in the film, who is sent to Earth with a goal to seduce men and harvest their bodies, for reasons unknown. However, as she spends more time among humans and society, she becomes curious about humanity and what it truly means to feel.
Immediately after first viewing of this film I was greatly impressed with how the narrative was more focused on the themes it wanted to portray, rather than trying to insert unnecessary action and story beats that would possibly appeal to a more mainstream audience, as the message and slow development of the character would’ve been overshadowed by trying to hit certain story beats. This is something that certain Hollywood films struggle to accomplish, because even if no further plot points or story action is needed, they’ll try and force feed it to the audience anyway, as some film creators may not trust their audience to be able to keep a focus on the themes and they won’t be able to enjoy a nontraditional narrative structure that provides constant handholding, exposition and spoon-feeding, rather than letting them think for themselves.
Under the Skins portrayal of how humans view beauty and our superficial tendencies was very well done, throughout the film Laura is aware that she is viewed as sexually attractive by the men around her as that is how she lures them in, but it isn't until later in the film after she lays fully naked in front of a mirror that she views herself as sexually attractive. This is the opposite to how we as humans have grown used to viewing ourselves, we base how attractive we are based on others' opinions and judge ourselves thoroughly when we see our reflection, while even though Laura was aware men wanted her she had no view of her own beauty until looking at herself.
The realism of the film was almost uncanny at some points, not just because of Scarlett Johansson’s flawless English accent, but also because multiple scenes were shot without the knowledge of certain members of the public who were used as speaking-role characters in those said scenes. For example, many of the scenes at the beginning of the film where Laura is attempting to pick up guys in her van by flirting with them were shot with hidden cameras, and with the director, sound crew, etc. in the back of the van. While this method may seem unorthodox, the men involved were all given wavers to be in the film as to not cause any legal exploitive issues. This realism helps contribute to the lens of human interactions, and as the men were completely unaware of what was happening while Scarlett knew they were shooting a film, it can be seen as a parallel to how the men are oblivious to the fact that Laura is on the hunt after them.
The role reversal of hunter to hunted is also prevalent within the film, with Laura being a domineering, unfeeling force at the start, but soon overtime becomes more targeted and preyed upon as she begins to feel and wants to experience true life as a human. This brings a balance to the fact that while feeling and being human is special, being able to feel and experience means you’re able to hurt and fear too.
Presto-Below the surface. Sotto la pelle, siamo fatti di musica- #drawing #pastels #painting #colors #paintingoftheday #early #window #undertheskin https://www.instagram.com/p/ClnWbMmsc08/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=