The Man Who Sold His Skin
- Habib Attia
- Nadim Cheikhrouha
- Martin Hampel
- Thanassis Karathanos
- Annabella Nezri
- Andreas Rocksén
- Yahya Mahayni
- Dea Liane
- Koen De Bouw
- Monica Bellucci
companies
- Cinétéléfilms
- Tanit Films
- Twenty Twenty Vision
- Kwassa Films
- Laika Film & Television
- Metafora Media Production
- Sunnyland Film
- Film i Väst
- VOO
- BeTV
- Istiqlal Films
- Hakka Distribution (Tunisia)[1]
- BAC Films (France)
- Cinéart (Belgium)[2]
- eksystent Filmverleih (Germany)[3]
- Folkets Bio (Sweden)[4]
- Bir Film (Turkey)[5]
- 4 September 2020 (2020-09-04) (Venice)
- Tunisia
- France
- Germany
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Turkey
- Cyprus
- Arabic
- English
- French
The Man Who Sold His Skin (Arabic: الرجل الذي باع ظهره, romanized: ar-rajul allaḏī bāʿa ẓahrahu, lit. 'The Man Who Sold His Back') is a 2020 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Its plot was inspired by Belgian contemporary artist Wim Delvoye's living work Tim (2006),[6] which was in turn inspired by Roald Dahl's 1952 short story "Skin".[7] It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards,[8] making the shortlist of fifteen films.[9] In March 2021, it was nominated for the Best International Feature Film.[10]
It premiered in the Horizons section at the 77th Venice International Film Festival,[11] where Yahya Mahayni won the Best Actor Award.[12][13]
Premise
Raqqa fiancés Sam and Abeer are separated by the Syrian Civil War. While Sam seeks refuge in Lebanon, Abeer family forces her to marry a richer man and move with him to Brussels. In the desperate pursuit of money and the needed paperwork to travel to Europe to rescue her, Sam accepts to have his back tattooed as a Schengen visa by one of the most controversial contemporary artists in the West. His own body turned into a living work of art and promptly exhibited in a museum, Sam will soon realize he has sold away more than just his skin.
Cast
- Yahya Mahayni as Sam Ali
- Dea Liane as Abeer
- Koen De Bouw as Jeffrey Godefroi, the controversial artist
- Monica Bellucci as Soraya Waldy, an art dealer
- Saad Lostan as Ziad, Abeer's husband
- Darina Al Joundi as Sam's mother
- Jan Dahdouh as Hazem
- Christian Vadim as William
- Wim Delvoye as an insurance broker
Reception
Critical response
The Man Who Sold His Skin has an approval rating of 88% based on 52 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Man Who Sold His Skin uses the tension between art and commerce as powerful fuel for a sobering story about freedom and human dignity."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 64 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]
Accolades
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | 25 April 2021 | Best International Feature Film | Kaouther Ben Hania | Nominated | [10] |
Magritte Awards | 12 February 2022 | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | [16] | |
Stockholm International Film Festival | 19 November 2020 | Bronze Horse | Nominated | [17] | |
Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
Venice International Film Festival | 12 September 2020 | Best Film (Horizons section) | The Man Who Sold His Skin | Nominated | [12] |
Best Actor (Horizons section) | Yahya Mahayni | Won |
See also
- List of submissions to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
- List of Tunisian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
- ^ Elsa Keslassy (20 November 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin' to Represent Tunisia in International Oscar Race". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "L'Homme qui a vendu sa peau". Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022 – via www.cineart.be.
- ^ "Der Mann, der seine Haut verkaufte". eksystent. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "The man who sold his skin | Folkets Bio". www.folketsbio.se. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "The Man Who Sold His Skin". Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Ward, Sarah (6 September 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ "Een rugtatoeage in ruil voor een visum in The Man Who Sold His Skin". parool. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ Keslassy, Elsa (20 November 2020). "'The Man Who Sold His Skin' to Represent Tunisia in International Oscar Race". Variety. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (9 February 2021). "Oscars Shortlists Announced in Nine Categories". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ a b "The full list of 2021 Oscars nominations". The Guardian. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ "Kaouther Ben Hania's 'The Man Who Sold His Skin' Scores Sales Following Middle East Premiere". Variety. 30 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy (12 September 2020). "'Nomadland' Scoops Golden Lion At Venice Film Festival – Full List Of Winnners". Deadline. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Collateral Awards of the 77th Venice Film Festival". labiennale.org. La Biennale di Venezia. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- ^ "The Man Who Sold His Skin - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. 2 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "The Man Who Sold His Skin". www.metacritic.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Voici les nommés de la 11e cérémonie des Magritte du Cinéma". Le Soir (in French). 12 January 2022. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "This year's winners!". Stockholms filmfestival. 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
External links
- The Man Who Sold His Skin at IMDb
- The Man Who Sold His Skin at Rotten Tomatoes
- v
- t
- e
- Le magique (1995)
- The Magic Box (2002)
- As I Open My Eyes (2016)
- The Last of Us (2017)
- Beauty and the Dogs (2018)
- Dear Son (2019)
- The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020)
- Golden Butterfly (2021)
- Under the Fig Trees (2022)
- Four Daughters (2023)