Mysterious Skin (Deluxe Unrated Director's Edition)

But I have owned this movie for over two years, so I thought I should at least give some personal reactions(I don't think another rehash of the plot is necessary).The "tagline" (I think that means the line that appeared on many of the original posters) is "One can't remember...and the other can't forget." Not many have pointed out that in a sense, Neil (Gordon-Levitt) is just as stuck back there in the past as Brian (Corbet) is. Neil knew he was gay before "Coach" picked him out, and, in fact, thought of their relationship as a "love affair," and the feeling he had for Coach as "love." When he starts hustling, he tries to pick men who are middle-aged (like Coach), a bit chunky (like Coach), and whom he can trust, as he trusted Coach. He has NO romance or love in his life, and no sex, except insofar as he gets sex from his johns (which considering that they do the paying, is a fair amount!). So while Brian (Corbet) has blocked the (one night stand--with Neil, the thing lasted all summer) out of his mind, substituted an alien abduction, and feels no sexual attraction for anyone, Neil's life is, in spite of its adventurousness, a certail sense of accomplishment, and, eventully, brutality--just as stuck as Brian's is. So while Araki shw us the widely-veering away from eachother lives of the two sexually abused children, it's clear that that, in a sense, the abuse has stopped the emotional development of both.Their coming together, at the end, with Neil explaning to Brian what happened to him that night (which he has by now partially guessed), is a kind of a miracle, and we are left with a feeling of hope. Neil realizes what a destructive force Coach was, not only for Brian, but for him as well, and Brian accepts the reality of what happened to him, and (especially in the movie) seems to feel a real warmth for Neil.I tried for months to get my transgender friend to watch this movie, but as soon as I told him what it was about, he said, "No. I don't want to see it." He slowly chanaged his mind, and we finally did watch it together. He never laughed (not even when Neil is getting blown under the table while annuncing a local baseball game), and said Neil didn't do anything for him (considering our similarities in taste in other similar matters, I'm not quite sure I don't take this with a grain of salt). What impressed him most about the movie, aside from its exquisite direction and acting, was that "neither of the two eight year old actors--or perhaps even younger--would have to know ANYTHING about what the movie as about." That is absolutely true. (Of course, they may have learned about it from older friends; I don't know),. But watch it carefully. With seemless editing, what seems to be a violation, and what seems to be a seduction, of two small boys, never involves either boy directly ("Here we go." But Coach's face moves toward the camera, not the 8-year-old Neil). Compare this to, for instance "The Innocents," in which Miles has to kiss his governess full on the mouth, recite a morbid and suggestive poem, and says some fairly nasty thing to her.We never see any real sex; we never see an improper kiss (unless you count Eric's and Neils!). The language is way, way out there, and it leave no question as to what is going on, in words that I probably can't print here. For the viewer, this language makes every scene utterly real. Things and scenes i especially liked:the way Neil's mother "doesn't know" what he does for a living; yeah, I bet she doesn't!Avalen calls Brian out to her farm in the middkle of the night. There in the field lies a dead cow, drained of it's blood (aliens of course have done this, according to Avalen). It is slit up the center, and she urges him. "Put your hand in!" Eventually he does...and then, puts it in deeper, and deeper, until only his elbow shows. "You didn't have to do THAT," says Avalen. Yes, he did.The rapist and batterer of Neil uses a bottle of Johnson's Baby Shampoo to hit him with (among other things),. It says "No more tears" on it.The way we follow Neil's thoghts in the final scene, as the camera pans up and up, until the two boys are little more than a speck on their couch. "I wished I could tell him everything would be all right now, but I knew it wouldn't, so i didn't. I just tried to make him understand how sorry I was. I wished we could rise out of there, like two angels in the night..." (Sorry, this is from memory; it's probably better in the film)....and I still like the blown baseball game.

Some reviewers have said that, although favorable to this film, they would not watch it more than once. I have watched it a few times now and have gotten more from it and acquired a greater appreciation for it each time. It is certainly the finest film that TLA has released up to now. Whether or not it is classified as an "Indi" film, I don't know, but I find it a thoroughly professional film for several reasons. The screenplay and direction are of a level not often typical of films of this kind. The superb music score by Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie is haunting and unforgettable. And if that's not enough, there's one more: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Gordon-Levitt, 24 at the time, brings a believable and three-dimensional quality to the chraracter of Neil McCormick that is overwhelmingly genuine and mesmerizing. The rest of the cast does excellent work here, but this is really Gordon-Levitt's picture. Of the three or four films in which I've seen him, this, in my mind, is his finest. In the most violently harrowing scene of the film, Gordon-Levitt playing a young male prostitute, encounters more than he can handle and for the first time in the film is not in control of his situation as he always has been. He realizes that the man who has taken him home clearly intends to violently rape him. He tries to get away by locking himself in the bathroom by means of a hook on the door. The man slips a knife through the crack in the door and flips up the hook. The look on Gordon-Levittt's face, and particularly in his eyes, is exactly that of a trapped animal. How he managed to convey this expression, I couldn't say, but it will give you nightmares or bring you to tears. He and Brady Corbet create two characters who finally meet in the final 15 minutes of the film which becomes terribly heart rending; but this is a film well worth watching because it is an important and unforgettable film dealing with the subject of child molestation that is an issue of increasing public awareness in these times.The closing voice-over lines given by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Neil) to Brady Corbet (Brian) after explaining what was done to them when they were children that is the most touching moment in the film. Brian has collapsed, weeping, in Neil arms; I wanted to tell Brian it was over now and everything would be okay. But that was a lie, plus, I couldn't speak anyway. I wish there was some way for us to go back and undo the past. But there wasn't. There was nothing we could do. So I just stayed silent and trying to telepathically communicate... how sorry I was about what had happened. And I thought of all the grief and sadness... and f----d up suffering in the world... and it made me want to escape. I wished with all my heart that we could just... Ieave this world behind. Rise like two angels in the night and magically... disappear.ps: I more recently discovered that there is an excellent commentary track on this disc with director Gregg Araki, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet. It made me even more aware of the dedication and depth of feeling they and entire cast and company had for this remarkable film. The director explicitly points out that the two young actors who play the two boys at the ages of 7 and 8 were always protected from knowing what the subject matter of the film actually was. A specially prepared script was created for them, while their parents saw the complete script and only after being assured that their sons would always be protected from knowing the full subject matter of the film gave their approval. In most of the scenes involving the young boys, they were not playing to other actors, but to the camera with some innocent props while the highly sophisticated editing of the film led audiences to believe they were seeing things that they actually were not. Only after realizing these details does the intelligence and artfulness that went into this film become apparent.More recently I purchased the Blu-ray disc of this film and the improvement in video and audio are striking and well worth the investment. Also there are many interesting extras with the Blu-ray edition that the DVD does not have.

cute kind personalized note left in dvd. very amazing movie one of my favourites

One of J G Levitts best performances although quite young to tackle such a hardened issue. Great film with a great cast..

FILM MAGNIFIQUE ET ÉMOUVANT.

Ich habe den Film eigentlich nur durch Zufall gesehen und war begeistert. Die Thematik fand ich ganz interessant, deswegen habe ich mich entschieden ihn mal zu schauen. Mit solchen Themen, wie die im Film, beschäftigt man sich im Alltag meist nicht und viele möchten bestimmt noch nicht mal darüber nachdenken.Ich habe schon einiges gesehen, die heftigsten Horrorfilme, Filme in denen gefoltert und getötet wird. Aber selten hat mich ein ein Film so mitgenommen, wie dieser hier. Es liegt wohl an der Art, wie das Thema behandelt wird. Zum einen werden die Szenen mit dem Pädophilen gezeigt, natürlich wird nichts sexuelles gezeigt, aber man bekommt den Hergang zu sehen, das ist nicht selbstverständlich. Zum anderen werden die Folgen ausschließlich durch die Handlungen und Denkweisen der beiden Hauptdarsteller gezeigt. Das ist, meiner Meinung nach, die große Stärke dieses Filmes (und auch des Buches). Man ist als Zuschauer gezwungen über das Thema selbst nachzudenken und die Aktionen der Personen mit dem Geschehnissen zu verbinden. Dadurch wird die Hauptaussage der Geschichte auf eine interessante Weise transportiert und kommt beim Zuschauer besser an, wenn man sich darauf einlassen möchte.Der Film ist kein Popcorn-Kino, und sicherlich kein Familienfilm. Er ist ziemlich traurig und einige stellen sind ziemlich heftig. Er ist recht unverblümt und selbst das Ende ist nicht typisch. Ich frage mich manchmal heute noch, wie es wohl weiter gehen würde und empfinde wirklich Mitleid mit den (fiktiven) Personen.Auch schön ist, dass der Missbrauch an 2 Kindern sehr unterschiedlich dargestellt wird. Einmal Neil, der sich die Sache irgendwie schön redet, dennoch unbewusst darunter leidet und in die Prostitution abrutscht.Und dann gibt es noch Brian, der sich nicht erinnert und sich einbildet, ihn hätten Aliens entführt. Ihre Wege sind sehr unterschiedlich und auch nicht untypisch, soweit ich es recherchieren konnte.Auch sehr schön ist, dass der Film zwar 2004 erschien (oder 2005?), dennoch die Zeit des Buches umgesetzt hat und man durch Kostüme und Kulisse eher den Eindruck bekommt, der Film wäre aus den frühen 90er Jahren.Die Schauspieler sind alle klasse, die Deutsche Synchro ist gelungen. Man sollte ihn sich aber mal in Englisch ansehen, lohnt sich.Wer Interesse an der Thematik hat und sich nicht ganz so leicht abschrecken lässt, ist mit diesem Film bestens bedient.

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