Under The Skin (4 Stars)

I've mentioned before that my local cinema has a monthly "Best of Cinema" feature, in which a classic film is shown. There are actually three monthly features in which old films are shown:

Best Of Cinema: The first Tuesday every month. These classic films are usually at least 20 years old. They're films that are generally recognised as great films.

Cine Futuro: The second Monday every month. They're films which are supposedly an indicator of the future of cinema. They're usually relatively recent films from the last 10 years, sometimes only two years old. They're mostly films which are unknown.

Weird Wednesday: The third Wednesday every month. They're films which are intended to shock the viewer. They're mostly low budget horror films.

I try my best to visit every "Best of Cinema" and "Weird Wednesday" film. I'm picky with "Cine Futuro", but "Under the Skin" is a film I couldn't afford to miss. It was a bold film for Scarlett Johansson. She made it just as she was beginning to break through and become recognised as an A-List actress. It's possible that she would have turned down the film five years later.

Despite being a relatively low budget film, it still lost money. Before the film was shown today we were given some background information. The German distributors bought the rights to the film on the basis of Scarlett Johansson's popularity, but when they saw it they decided not to release it. They thought the film was too cerebral and wouldn't be understood by cinema audiences.

Do I understand it? Not really. The things that happen seem very random. There are two aliens in Scotland, in and around Glasgow. The female picks up men and kills them. The male cleans up after her. We can only speculate on the reason for this. Is it for food? Is it to absorb their knowledge? Your guess is as good as mine.

If you read the film reviews, you'll see that everyone has a different opinion about the film's meaning. The director Jonathan Glazer seems to have remained out of the discussions. The film is based on a book, but only loosely. The book can't be used to explain the film. It's all about the atmosphere and the imagery.

After the film we were offered a glass of Sekt (German champagne) in the foyer while we stood discussing the film. We didn't come to any conclusions, but we were all impressed by what we'd seen. The future of cinema? Not really. I doubt anything like it will be made again.

Success Rate:  - 1.8

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