Second Skin (2000)

Let's be realistic.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I found the second skin to be a interesting and insightful movie, as it shows the perspective of the main character but also shows the wife and Diego's perspective as well and you get a sense of their feelings as the movie progresses. I like how it shows the main characters conflict within himself as well as with his wife and Diego.I think it is sad that he cannot be himself, because he feels he needs to be what is expected of him. I find that it is the case with some people these days (not only in sexual orientation) where they feel they are force to be something they are not or change who they are not, just so that they can please other people.

Solid but downbeat drama by Gerardo Vera , being well photographed and compellingly shot . Diego (Javier Bardem) is a surgeon who has fallen in love with a married man (Jordi Molla) to Elena (Ariadna Gil) and with a son . Against the advice of his chief (Cecilia Roth) and best friend , he goes on his affair with Alberto . Then, it takes place doubts , mistrusts , jealousy , standing between the three lovers . The consequences of this twisted love story profoundly alter not only the two men's lives , but also that of Alberto's spouse . Alberto is a man now broke and ill who has sentimental problems of his own . But Elena is not willing to cede more and Alberto is torn between the two sides of love . Events go wrong , confrontation is inevitable, and the breakdown is accelerated until an unexpected ending with tragic consequences .Intense and heart-rending melodrama about a peculiar and suffering trio . This interesting as well as intimate story is a passionate retelling and a touching melodrama , including strong sex scenes and nudism . The film relies heavily on the relationships among the main characters , a complex loving cobweb plenty of deceptions , pain , mistrust and lies . The main problem has to face "Segunda Piel" , beyond not being able to avoid falling into a claustrophobic drama is precisely derived from the coldness of its staging , which eventually become monotonous and excessive heart-breaking over one hundred minutes and some of footage . Very good acting from trio protagonist , as Javier Bardem as Diego, orthopedic doctor at a private clinic , he is a man without folds or prejudices who is pulled to the pool of loving risks with their professional and emotional stability ; Jordi Molla as a young and prestigious aeronautical engineer and Ariadana Gil as his zealous wife who wants to be in love with him , in spite of the hard circumstances . They are supported by a magnificent secondary cast such as Cecilia Roth , Mercedes Sampietro , Javier Albalá , Pilar Castro , among others . Colorful and brilliant cinematography by Julio Madurga . Special mention for excellent musical score , marvelously composed by Roque Baños . He composes a wonderful soundtrack full of sensitivity and good feeling . Roque Baños is considered to be one of the best Spanish musicians with successes such as Fragiles , Machinist , Sexy beast , 800 bullets and El Niño . The motion picture was well shot by Gerardo Vera , being filmed in his usual formal and stylistic scholarship , without leaving a trace the thought-provoking issues , in terms of dramatic and narrative excitement . It was notorious screen-writer Rafael Azcona who encouraged director Gerardo Vera to make this movie . Gerardo Vera was born in Madrid , where he often shoots his films . He is a good filmmaker , production designer and costume designer , known for Deseo (2002) , Tattoo (1999) , La Celestina (1996) and especially this , Segunda Piel (1999) . Gerardo Vera is particularly famous as a prestigious Production designer , being known for El Pecador Impeccable , Fuego Eterno , Mitad del Cielo , Tasio , Feroz and La Niña De Tus Ojos (1998).

Audiences who believed LA MUJER DE MI HERMANO to be the first to tackle marital infidelity where the husband has an affair with -- gasp! -- another man may not have heard of this little movie that splashed itself unto European movie theatres (and ultimately, ours in several Gay and Lesbian film festivals) in 2000. SEGUNDA PIEL (SECOND SKIN) delves into the theme of self-hatred through the disguise of infidelity, with the catch that even by the time of its release this sort of story had been explored years and years ago. If you change the sex of Diego (played by that explosive mass of dangerous masculinity called Javier Bardem) and make him a she, you have the basic of every Hollywood soaper that made it unto movie screens from day one. As a matter of fact, this movie plays with a sub-genre of gay fiction, gay romance, in which elements prevalent in heterosexual romance drive a plot. While many may chuckle at the thought, I seem to find value in it -- I would rather see this type of by-the-number, Lifetime-oriented melodrama ten times over anything that attempts to bring forth rituals of quasi-masculinity described in much of the literature of Jean Genet or Fassbinder's 1982 movie QUERELLE. For any story to work there has to be some form of an emotional link to it, even if it is hokey and clichéd. It's why a little movie called GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN works for me (despite it been filmed on a micro-budget), and why the works of William S. Burroughs, as extreme in their depiction of entire civilizations of men and the violence of their subcultures, leave me cold. SECOND SKIN is far from a great movie, or even a good one -- some subplots, such as Elena's sleeping with her co-worker -- lead nowhere, and it's true that there are times when Alberto made me want to break that fourth wall and smack him a good one for playing with the devoted Diego and Elena (and pretty much everyone else in the movie). However, it has the presence of four of Spain's best actors -- Javier Bardem, Jordi Molla (as Alberto), Ariadna Gil (as Elena), and Cecilia Roth (as Diego's friend and co-worker Eva), and the irony of showing scenes of homosexual sex so passionate they nearly stop the movie in its tracks as opposed to the more tame heterosexual scenes.

I saw this film a few hours ago. It's beautifully shot and there are some nice performances but it just doesn't mount up to much. It's all rather soap-operatic, with a swelling soundtrack and nowhere to go. I thought it was going to go somewhere (belatedly) in the last 20 minutes but it just got wrapped up very suddenly.I felt I was watching a remake of "Making Love". If you really want to see some emotional truth in a situation like this, see "Hollow Reed".