Dans Ma Peau

Rating:
Summary: Sick and insensitive Rubbish
Review: Compulsive Behaviour Disorder is another one of those sadly misunderstood forms of mental illness which can affect anyone at any time during their life. It can range from the repeated washing of hands to the complete opposite end of the scale, in other words self harm or self mutilation. It takes a special kind of Sicko to make a very nasty film like this and to actually attempt to pass it off as a piece of high brow cinematic art!!! This DVD was given to me on someones, recommendation !! The portrayal of what this character goes through during the film came across as voyeuristic and vomit inducing!! And it constantly pretends to be highly creative and artistic!!! We are never once given a deep look into the unfortunate victims mind, instead, we are just pushed along from one piece of gore to the next!! And trust me when I say that this IS NOT the sort of film you should be leaving lying around for children to see!!! Let alone anyone actually suffering from this nasty illness! It should be hoped that Marina De Van quietly vanishes into a very dark corner somewhere never to be heard of again!!!

Rating:
Summary: "A graphic drama"
Review: From film director Marina De Van the haunting debut In My Skin disgusts audiences everywhere. Marina De Van stars and directs a film about a women's struggle with self-mutilation and her decent into madness. Esther, a young research analyst gashes her leg after an accidental fall. She becomes obsessed with her wounds, tracing the cuts on her leg, pinching her skin. Esther's obsession grows and becomes more serious when she starts to carve deep wounds into her flesh with knives, forks, anything she can get her hands on.
Her boyfriend Vincent does not understand Esther's problem and becomes concerned and angry. She continues to explore her body with her compulsion.

In My Skin is a disturbing and extremely graphic film that I would recommend to anyone with a strong stomach. Esther has a good paying job as a research analyst and a promotion on the way, which angers her jealous friend Sandrine who is disgusted and shocked by her friend's problem. The characters are pretty idiotic, such as Vincent who thinks he is the cause of Esther's self-mutilation. Her boyfriend has no interest in understanding her problem, instead he argues with her. Marina De Van, who wrote, directed, and starred in the film did a pretty good job of capturing the dark mood of the scenes.
However, De Van did not do such a good job of giving Esther a definite motive for her problem. The film does not bother to explain her problem or go into character depth.
The character development is interesting but the visuals are gruesome, especially when Esther begins to eat her flesh. In My Skin is difficult to watch at times but I made it through the entire film without closing my eyes though I was grabbing on to my couch as hard as I can. While watching I couldn't help but notice that the film was done for pure shock value which ended up ruining the overall quality of the film. Compared to some films, In My Skin isn't very graphic.

The sound of her carving her flesh is what grossed me out. "The Dinner scene" where Esther begins to cut her arm up with a knife while at a dinner meeting. The acting was pretty good, though strange. It's a very unique film that you most likely won't find at your local rental store. I had to purchase the DVD online. The DVD includes short films by Marina de Van, and director Commentary. If you find this film at a rental store I suggest you rent it rather than purchasing it.
Slowly you're pulled into Esther's bizarre world of self-destruction. In My Skin is in French with English subtitles. The film is unrated but is from mature audiences only (graphic gore, nudity, language).

Rating:
Summary: amazing and disturbing
Review: i don't really feel like writing alot about this film here so this review probably won't be one of those "helpful" ones. what does that mean anyway? helpful to whom? i write this just to say that this one of those films that are very difficult to watch and yet you keep watching. marina de van is amazing as the main character the director and the writer. i guess i could write some critical/theoretical comments about body politics and the objectification of internal pain states etc. but i am really sick of writing theory. if you are looking for visual representations or performances addressing issues of the body and identity you could cull a few from here. to be silly i will say this is not a good date movie (at least as far as any relationship i'd like to be in). you will not feel happy and uplifted afterwards. you might even come away thinking films like this have no redeeming value. yet it is so so very very compelling to watch and think about. also, if you have ever looked at websites about "cutting" (often young over-achieving girls, but possible in any demographic) or if you cut or know of someone who does this would be a movie about the complex of "cutting" writ large. i don't know that much about it but i think it is alittle like anorexia and bulimia where people try to take control of their own lives at the only level they can. now i know that the ana/mia websites have the disclaimer that if you are a "recovering" ana/mia person you should not enter because you might get "triggered?" to return to your old habits and i think maybe that would be true for cutters too, and this film is so very graphic and eroticizes the act to the extent that someone who is trying not to be a cutter might want to steer clear. i didn't buy it, i rented it and you might want to go that route first because i think it's not for everybody. it is so definitely worth seeing but i don't think i'd buy it unless i was into the lifestyle or had a research topic on a subject of this nature. but hey, this is just one review and you know what? i'm not even going to proofread! bye!

Rating:
Summary: amazing and disturbing
Review: i don't really feel like writing alot about this film here so this review probably won't be one of those "helpful" ones. what does that mean anyway? helpful to whom? i write this just to say that this one of those films that are very difficult to watch and yet you keep watching. marina de van is amazing as the main character the director and the writer. i guess i could write some critical/theoretical comments about body politics and the objectification of internal pain states etc. but i am really sick of writing theory. if you are looking for visual representations or performances addressing issues of the body and identity you could cull a few from here. to be silly i will say this is not a good date movie (at least as far as any relationship i'd like to be in). you will not feel happy and uplifted afterwards. you might even come away thinking films like this have no redeeming value. yet it is so so very very compelling to watch and think about. also, if you have ever looked at websites about "cutting" (often young over-achieving girls, but possible in any demographic) or if you cut or know of someone who does this would be a movie about the complex of "cutting" writ large. i don't know that much about it but i think it is alittle like anorexia and bulimia where people try to take control of their own lives at the only level they can. now i know that the ana/mia websites have the disclaimer that if you are a "recovering" ana/mia person you should not enter because you might get "triggered?" to return to your old habits and i think maybe that would be true for cutters too, and this film is so very graphic and eroticizes the act to the extent that someone who is trying not to be a cutter might want to steer clear. i didn't buy it, i rented it and you might want to go that route first because i think it's not for everybody. it is so definitely worth seeing but i don't think i'd buy it unless i was into the lifestyle or had a research topic on a subject of this nature. but hey, this is just one review and you know what? i'm not even going to proofread! bye!

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Film
Review: I found this dvd by chance at one of my local rental stores. It was the only copy in the entire place, and with reading the back, I was compelled to buy it, even with the english subtitles lol.

I found that In My Skin wasn't as good as it could have been, but at the same time you rarely see anything on Self-Injury. Esther, a girl who looks to have her life on track accidently injures herself while at a friends party. When questioned about why she didn't know she was injured, she responds that she didn't feel it. From here on in, things escalate and lead to some very serious acts of SI. I agree with the others, that they left you wondering as to why exactly Esther started going over board with her self-injury anyways. There were a couple other things that could have been done to enhance the story line - such as more concern shown by Esther's boyfriend Vincent

All in all, the visuals in this movie helped to accurately portray the acts of self-harm and the catatonic fits that some actually do go into. As was said, it is unrated but should be rated R for the graphic nature and nudity.

I reccomend this to anyone who wants to take a closer look at EXTREME cases of Self-Injury, as long as you have a strong stomach.

Rating:
Summary: Not for the squeamish or those with light stomachs.
Review: I remember seeing the trailer for IN MY SKIN in the theatre several months ago and there was an immediate audience reaction to the frank scenes of a woman engaging in acts of self-mutilation, myself included. In spite of my initial whimpering there I was curious about this film, as this is a rare subject matter and sensitive topic to portray. For this reason I decided to rent the DVD to see more about this woman with the tendency to cut herself.

Esther (Marina de Van) is an ambitious career woman with an enduring boyfriend who appears to have everything going for her. While attending a party she accidentally trips in a darkened yard and suffers a serious cut on her calf. One would think that a person who receives such a similar injury would feel the pain immediately and seek out some assistance. Esther, however, only believes that her pants were torn and continues to enjoy the party until she witnesses her trail of blood. Both her doctor and boyfriend are stunned over Esther's lack of feeling for good reasons.

As time progresses Esther realizes that she is strangely soothed by aspect of cutting herself and engages in such behavior behind the backs of others. She continuously feels compelled to harm herself and often hides in public places while taking a sharp object to an appendage of her body. She quickly slides down a downward spiral of aberrant conduct.

An obvious question is why Esther is mutilating herself while risking both her relationship and career. Unfortunately there are no clear answers. Cutting is a serious psychological disorder that is often an outlet for feelings of low self-esteem and lack of control over present circumstances, but Esther's situation remains vague. It was only watching the director's commentary that I received some clarity and insight, and in the fashion of French cinema the relationship of Esther to her body is largely philosophical.

IN MY SKIN is certainly not for everyone due to the numerous blatant scenes of self-mutilation. Its lack of clarity can be annoying and grating and as a result I would definitely recommend watching the director's commentary afterwards to better appreciate this film. 3.5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: This is a definitive feminist film.
Review: Ok I have never written a review before, so this is a first for me, bear with me. This is an amazing film. I had to watch it twice at first to really get it.
At first glance it is a bizzare horror flick. But on a second viewing I realized this was all about the main character trying to find her place. Her place in her life, her place in society, her place even in regular conversation.
The film had to be graphic inorder to convey the meaning behind the character. And since the director is also the main character, then this becomes necessary for the film to work. I say this coment about the graphic nature to the film, because at first viewing it really seemed like just a cheap shot to make one squemish....but it's not.
Anyway another more recent film to check out is 'The Mother'. It is different in tons of ways, but it relates in that it is about a woman's struggle dealing with everyday life. Nothing hollywood here, really the gritty reality of life. These are films to ponder over, give a little thought and move on.
I almost truely believe that these kind of films are the ones that really mean the most to people in general. It's a shame that Hollywood abuses the film-making process and shadows our intellect. But keep in mind this is someone who is obsessed with the Oscars. So never mind.

Rating:
Summary: Masachism all around
Review: You might think that you'd like to see a beautiful young woman gouge holes in her thigh, curl up in the fetal position and make out with them, eat her own arm, stab herself in the eye, smear blood all over herself, spit on herself, drink diet coke, and then die, but when faced with the actual prospect, it may not be as fun to watch as you might think.

Why did she do all this? Apparently that wasn't important information to impart.

By midway through this FOUR HOUR epic, I was thinking 'why doesn't she just die allready?'. By the end I was hoping that I would die, something, just so long as it was over. Watching this film is, in and of itself, an act of masachism. I spent the whole movie thinking 'why is she doing this to herself?', but when it FINALLY ended, I thought 'why did I do that to MYself?'.