In My Skin (2003)

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Just watched this film a couple days ago, and haven't really been able to let go. I'd been meaning to watch it, along with a few other gems associated with the New French Extremity, for quite some time now, and managed to find it at a local (but amazing) video store.First of all, this was one of the most deeply uncomfortable viewing experiences of my life. There isn't the typical fast, exaggerated gore typical to most films in the genre. The violence is slow, drawn out, gnawing and scratching, sickening, shameful, secretive.Second, and what has struck me the most, is that this is the most honest and brutal depiction of self-harm/self-mutilation I've ever seen. Truly. I've been a cutter for some time (thankfully recovered), and at its worse it was catastrophic and insane. There's a strong element of shame. You isolate. But what this movie nails the most, that not only is missed in other depictions but has always been hard for me to describe, is the depersonalization, the dissociation from your own body. The restaurant scene tackles this concept quite literally, in fact. It's still hard to really put into words, so I'll let this movie talk for me.If you're looking to push your boundaries or witness one of the more devastating downward spirals committed to celluloid, definitely check this one out.

According to Descartes, embodiment is the necessary concept for becoming complete human being. It is an idea of two things which are connected each other in order to unite into a mind which we call being. We have our brains and our bodies to fulfill this formation. In consideration of this notion, approaching "Dans ma peau" as crucial example of duality is an inevitable.In the very first scene where Esther get injured, she is not aware of her own wound. Therefore, we can create first opinions for objectification between her body and herself. When she goes to the doctor who jokes about if the leg belongs to her or not, we can get the further idea of objectification that leads disconnection which is already started between Esther and her body. According to French philosopher Gabriel Marcel, there are two ways in the act of knowing: primary reflection and secondary reflection. In primary reflection, we place ourselves out of the things we are viewing. In this approach, my body is just a body and nothing else. It is like an object. However, when we look at the secondary reflection, we recognize that we are part of things we are viewing. It is my body that is uniquely mine. Hence, we cannot simplify our bodies like we do in the primary reflection. This is the case that Esther encounters. She sees her body as an instrument apart from her being. It is like an extension of herself, just as her cloths are extension of her skin. She has her body unlike she is her body.The body works as a mediator to ensure connection with the outer world like a bridge or a wall to prevent from that connection which leads disconnection. We can see disconnection between Esther and her body obviously in the dinner scene. Esther is experienced her arm tears apart from her. She tries cutting her arm with the knife, but she feels nothing. Her arm disconnects from Esther and becomes an object especially just a meat. She finds that increasingly more alluring. After this exploration, Esther becomes attracted by her body pushing her to start exploring what is under her skin. This leads her to get a hotel room for communicating with her body in secrecy. Because, this is not something she can talk about to her boyfriend or her friends. She enjoys her self-mutilation. Unlike hating her own body, she definitely shows to us that she is in love with her body. She keeps her raw skins and even trying to dry them for having her own skin are indicators of fondness for her body.On the other hand, these acts of Esther can be interpreted as concerns about the social life. Indulging completely from herself with ignoring all her friends even her boyfriend is an anti-social behavior. This behavior creates another level of embodiment which is about the social constructivism. In the social constructivism, single human being and the society are fused into a single mind. Esther escapes this duality to ensures her independence and individualism.

"In My Skin" "In My Skin" is exactly the the way a film should be made. French Extremism is brought front and center in this film Written/Directed and Starring Marina de Van as the beautiful "Ester", a young women who descends into an abyss of psychiatric darkness of self mutilation/self cannibalism/autosarcophagy. Her boyfriend "Vincent" (Laurent Lucas, Calvaire) and friend "Sandrine" ( Lea Drucker) deal with the frustration of trying to help, to no avail! "In My Skin" is a horribly beautiful film with just the right amount of extremism to landscape the austerity of "Esters" ailment to a frightening reality."Ester" is a young women who attends a networking mixer with her friend and colleague "Sandrine". Wanting to get a breath of fresh air, "Ester" ventures out of the house in darkness. Hard to see, "Ester" falls, after picking herself back up, she ventures back inside and up stairs to the bathroom, where she notices a lot of blood on the carpet. She realizes that this trail of blood leads back to her! She looks at her pant leg, it's terribly torn. "Ester" lifts the tattered pant leg, only to reveal a ghastly tear in her flesh. Amazed at the fact she felt no pain, she leave she leaves the party and goes for a drink with her friends before visiting the hospital.Now infatuated with her new laceration, "Ester" spirals down the path of self mutilation, with a side of denial, shame and obsessive compulsion."In My Skin" is a sad film. This women is so overcome by her mental illness, it becomes hard to watch. Not for the scenes of the graphic images, but for the fact that their is no explanation for her behavior. I liked de Van's direction here. I could see how this could be perceived as poor development, but on the contrary, this is real life and we don't know if she was abused emotionally or sexually to end up this way. This is a direct reflection of the horrors of real life. You could have a friend, loved one or colleague that you think is perfectly normal to only find out that after hours they are tormented by demons. Somethings in life are just unexplained, we would never know unless we walked in their shoes. "IMS" is a haunting portrayal of succumbing to demons that haunt the vast majority.The imagination that is Marina de Van is unparalleled, a real sentiment to her writing ability, then somehow she turns it into real life on the big screen, this speaks volumes for her talent as a director. Her portrayal of "Ester" was so good, I felt for her on every slash.Laurent Lucas' supporting role was at times a bit much and overacted(like many of his scenes in Calvaire). Gladly he leaves it all to de Van to run with, and that is exactly what she does. Don't forget the mutilations she produces on her self with every sharp instrument she can find in arms reach. These scenes are all in full view for you to wriggle about in your seat. "IMS" is so good it can not be missed. It's so real...it's scary! BruceVain BruceVain's Blog

Marina de Van wrote, directed and starred in this, her feature film debut, which is a graphic exploration of addiction and raw human desire.At a work-related party, ambitious businesswoman, Esther (de Van) trips on some metal in the backyard and tears a gaping wound in her leg. At first she doesn't notice, but as the night wears on she glimpses her own bloody footprints on the carpet and eventually though rather reluctantly, goes to the hospital to get herself stitched up.Over the next few days she begins to pick at the wound and gouge new ones as things such as her demanding job, and over-protective boyfriend begin to stress her out; she finds that this practice relaxes her. Due to her work and worried loved ones, Esther tries to hide her self-harm and even goes so far as to fake a car crash to explain the lacerations on her arms. As the days and weeks progress, she begins to lose control and at one stage mutilates herself under the table at a dinner function whilst hallucinating. As her addiction reaches its peak she holes up in a hotel room and greedily cannibalizes herself while documenting her disfiguration with polaroids and saving chunks of her own skin to dry out like animal hide and stash in the safety of her purse for later.In My Skin portrays a woman in the depths of an obsession very few (if any) of us can understand; she begins to lose her sense of feeling, both emotionally and physically, and to compensate for it she begins to fetishize her body by exploring it in the most visceral way possible: by revelling in her own flesh & blood, tearing and eating her skin and wallowing wildly in her blood. It seems Esther's addiction to excessive self-mutilation began as a coping mechanism, but soon transformed into an act of narcissism taken to the extreme. When we see her caressing her opened up body, and erotically nibbling at her limbs, she is the ultimate egomaniac lost inside herself.At times the film can get quite graphic, especially in the last fifteen minutes when Esther is letting loose on herself in the hotel room: tearing chunks of flesh off with her teeth; cutting her face up with a kitchen knife, and further going to work on her leg. Yet some of the most teeth-gritting scenes for me were in the beginning of the film when she first cuts her leg up then opens the wound up further. The sound & gore effects are top-notch and make for some tense squirmin'-in-yer-seat moments.In My Skin is another great piece of modern French film-making that's right up there with the best of Catherine Breillat and Gaspar Noé's work. Also recommended for fans of those other self-mutilation-themed films: Naked Blood and Cutting Moments