I am still glowing from the amazing night I had last night (don't get any ideas!). Thanks to a guest who needed assistance with purchasing a movie ticket, I ended up having a once in a lifetime experience. Alright maybe I'm going overboard but after a long week of parties at the Boom Boom Room, Cooper Square Hotel and The Bowery Hotel (ahhh the life of a Concierge), it was nice to get a little culture.
I have been a longtime fan of Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, ever since high school when I was on a renting-foreign-films-from-the-library-due-to-a-lack-of-social-life kick and rented All About My Mother. While the film (starring a young Penelope Cruz) dealt with controversial (for the time) subjects such as HIV and transvestites, it was (and is always, in all of his films) done tastefully, and masterfully. He has an incredible way of bringing out compassion from the audience towards misfit characters.
And so last night I had the pleasure of attending Almodovar's newest film The Skin I Live In. What made this particular screening unique is that the director introduced the film in person. A sweet and fuzzy man (reminded me a bit of a koala bear) he spoke with eloquence (albeit with a thick Spanish accent as translated by a man with a thick British accent) as he introduced his latest work. What he explained, and is exemplified in each of his films, is that he wanted to make a film that illustrated and illuminated the importance of the spirit and soul. Plastic surgery, the body and image are all transient and what truly matters is who were are all as people. And Almodovar expresses this important message in each of his films.
Starring Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon consumed with the desire to fix what is lost, and Elena Anaya as a mysterious and fragile figure, it is a film about human behaviour, obsession, and resilience under extreme tragedies. I won't get in to to many details about The Skin I Live In because what is most interesting about it are the twists and turns the plot takes. The way in which the director is able to capture the audience (there were moments where I was on the edge of my seat) and the constant tug of war between which of the characters to feel compassionate for (as none of them were perfect) with the complete and utter shock I felt as the plot twisted, all added to a fantastic movie experience.
Pedro Almodovar is truly one of the most exceptional living auteurs of our day and I highly recommend seeing The Skin I Live In. You will not be disappointed.
