Skin (2008/II)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Hanro Smitsman

Writers:

Germen Boelens (writer)
Philip Delmaar (writer)

Release Date:

13 March 2008 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Frankie E.

Plot Keywords:

Father Son Relationship | War Trauma | Punk | Nazi

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Buijsman	...	Simon
Chris Comvalius	...	Klant in kapsalon
Guus Dam	...	Amos
Robert de Hoog	...	Frankie
Rian Gerritsen	...	Agente
Paul Geusebroek	...	Huub
Juda Goslinga	...	Henk
Jason Gwen	...	Lee
Dajo Hogeweg	...	Peter
Bart Klever	...	Vader Maikel
Teun Kuilboer	...	Robbert
Mike Libanon	...	Man in soos
Mike Meijer	...	Gerrit
Negativ	...	Terrence
Urmie Plein	...	Joyce
Sylvia Poorta	...	Anna
Jorik Prins	...	Maikel
Mark Scholten	...	Collega van Henk
Joshua Timisela	...	Bontje
Juliann Ubbergen	...	Jeffrey
Vincent Vianen	...	Dave

Runtime:

Netherlands:85 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Certification:

Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Oostzeedijk, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

CoBo Fonds

Trivia:

In the scene where Henk (Juda Goslinga) tells Frankie that his mother has passed away, Frankie's (Robert de Hoog) nose starts to bleed. This was pure and natural and was not planned. The actor whiped away the blood but continued to play the scene. Eventually this take made it into the final cut.

When communication fails

'Skin', set in a grim Dutch working class area in 1979, tells the story of Frankie, who starts out as a normal, somewhat rebellious teenager, and ends up as a neo-Nazi in jail. His Jewish father, a concentration camp survivor, is unable to communicate with his wife and son, which frustrates Frankie and has already created a clearly uneasy father-son relationship at the beginning of the film. When Frankie's mother gets seriously ill and needs to be hospitalized, all frustrations come creeping out from under Frankie's skin and a rough process in which he alienates from his father and most of his friends is set in motion. Even though Frankie does not intend for it to happen, he gradually finds some solace with a group of skinhead neo-Nazis, and escalation ensues.

There are some parallels between this film and the classic 'American History X', but whereas that film shows us how a remorseful neo-Nazi seeks redemption, this one explores how exactly a young person who would seem an unlikely candidate for adopting such views ends up doing so for all the wrong reasons (if there even are any right ones to begin with). Moreover, 'Skin' is a strong, gripping story about what may happen when communication fails, set against a background of growing intolerance and violence.