The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)

The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)

A Syrian man becomes artwork in this fascinating drama based on a true story

The Very Best

8.0

Movie

Belgium, Cyprus
Arabic, English, French
Drama
2020
FEMALE DIRECTOR, KAOUTHER BEN HANIA
Adrienne Mei Irving, Anissa Daoud, Christian Vadim
104 min

What it's about

To be able to travel to Europe and find the love of his life, Sam Ali, a Syrian refugee, accepts to have his back tattooed by one of the most sulfurous contemporary artist; becoming that way a precious work of art.

The take

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s new movie is about an arrogant European artist who tattoos a Syrian man's back, essentially turning the man's body into artwork. 

The man, as a commodity, is able to travel the world freely to be in art galleries, something as a simple human with a Syrian passport he couldn’t do. Seems unlikely? It’s based on a true story.

But Ben Hania is not really interested in the political statement aspect of this unlikely stunt. Instead, she looks at what this would do to a human-being, to the man's self-esteem, his relationships, and the turns his life takes. It's a fascinating movie.

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