Customer Reviews

La Peau Blanche/ White Skin (Original French Version with English Subtitles)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once in a while, a film arrives which has traces of genres peppered throughout but never overpower the main thrust of the narrative. Daniel Roby's 'WHITE SKIN' balances the Horror and Art film genres without becoming over powered by their intent and leads our male lead into a true nightmare of obsessive love. Vampirism and cannibalism is hinted at but never dilutes the film's beauty and Roby directs with such diversity that his actors seem like they just walked in off the street and are thrust into the action. For viewers who are looking for something different, this comes highly recommended.

This movie was surprisingly fascinating and visually wonderful. The script's tired racial allegory about "natural versus unnatural" humanity could actually be somewhat offensive for everyone involved (if you think about it for long enough), but, thankfully, the artistic ambition of the direction and the sensitivity of our leads' performances turned the movie from a cliche "horror movie with a point" into a compellingly strange examination of love, desperation, and what obsession might allow you to forgive. Kudos.

La Peau Blanche (Daniel Roby, 2004)

IMDB recently got a revamp, and one of the new features is "plot keywords." These are endlessly amusing if you're looking at the right movies. For example, take Daniel Roby's slick, if low-budget, little thriller La Peau Blanche, unfortunately released in America as Cannibal (the original title is wonderfully evocative, the American title a spoiler). The plot keywords:

Pregnant / Metro / Stabbed In The Chest / Prostitutes / Racial Issues

I mean, how can you read a string of seemingly unconnected words like that and not want to see this movie? Give in to those impulses-- you'll have a pretty good time.

(Interestingly, the top-rated entry for "Stabbed in the Chest" is the old TV series The Wild, Wild West. I have no idea why.)

Thierry Richard (The White Chapel's Marc Paquet) and his roommate Henri Dieudonne (Music-Hall's Frederic Pierre) are out for a night on the town and meet two lovely young women in a drinking establishment. Thierry turns down one's brazen offer of a turn between the sheets. She assumes it's because he's after the other, more popular lass, who's off having her way with Henri, because she's a redhead, and all men like redheads. Thierry protests; he can't stand them. (A man who does not like redheads. The movie loses all credibility right here, I tell you!) Something about their pale skin gives him the creeps, he tells her, and the rest of the conversation is sidetracked by the revelation that the redhead, Marquise (Jessica Malka of the upcoming The Yellow Woman), is trying to take a bite out of Henri-- literally. Thierry and Henri escape, though not without wounds. A few days later, Thierry sees a street musician (Marianne Farley) in the Metro, and-- despite her long red hair and almost translucent skin-- he can't get her out of his mind. He endeavors to meet her and, well, the rest is history. What kind of history it is you've probably already figured out just by reading that summary of the first fifteen-ish minutes of an hour and a half movie, but the fact that the big plot twist is predictable from the time you read the back of the DVD box makes this movie in no way less enjoyable. The principals all play their roles to the hilt, and Malka and Farley almost redefine "easy on the eyes." A very pretty picture, all in all.

The story is subtle, perhaps a bit too much so; I've seen a few questions peppered here and there on the 'net about the racism displayed by certain characters that makes perfect sense, given some of the other dialogue later in the movie. It also seemed to me that a few things were glossed over a little too quickly, but perhaps the story was too subtle for me, as well. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt (I was stumped by a damaged DVD and had a two-week hiatus between seeing the first and second halves of the movie, which could have led to be forgetting a few details). One way or the other, an interesting little movie that should have gotten a lot more press than it did. Perhaps if the American distributor hadn't bothered to stick such a blunt name on it, that might've helped. *** ½

This review refers to the version dubbed in English.

This is supposed to be creepy, I suppose, but I found it kind of atmospheric and romantic. It has some interesting sci-fi concepts, like the idea that blacks are "more human" than whites, who are "diluted" versions of humans. The main character is a writing student who has just moved to Montreal to study at University, and lives with his best friend who is a black guy with a huge family. The roommate has an aunt who is a bit psychic, and she recognizes the problem with the protagonist's new girlfriend that goes beyond the fact that she's a redhead with very pale skin and he's grossed out by white skin to the point that they refer to it as a phobia.

I can't say too much more without giving away the key to the story, but suffice it to say, if you dig the vampire/werewolf/genetic mutation type stories that have sympathetic creatures, this is a good bet. The over-dubs are a little obvious and the acting is cheesy in spots, especially by the minor characters, but I found the male and female lead to be attractive and empathetic enough to make up for the flaws.

For myself, I'd rate this a 5, because of the chemistry that put it up there with my other favorites like Underworld, but I marked it a 4 because that's probably the way most people will see it.