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Skin

Skin

Drama · 2009

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Movie details

Skin

2009 Drama 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Skin?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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What Maisie Knew

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Fatima

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The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Anthony Fabian

Written by

Anthony Fabian · Jessie Keyt · Helen Crawley · Helena Kriel

Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo

Sandra Laing

Sam Neill

Sam Neill

Abraham Laing

Alice Krige

Alice Krige

Sannie Lang

Tony Kgoroge

Tony Kgoroge

Petrus Zwane

E

Ella Ramangwane

Young Sandra

Morné Visser

Morné Visser

Doctor Sparks

Faniswa Yisa

Faniswa Yisa

Nora Molefe

Court is in session

Put Skin on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.