UNDER THE SKIN

A woman (Scarlett Johansson) drives a white van through Glasgow and approaches men who are travelling alone. She asks for directions, offers a lift, and whoever gets in follows her into a house where the floor turns to black liquid. The woman is not of this world; a motorcyclist who removes her traces belongs to her. But when she lets a young man with a disfigured face go free, she begins to question her assignment and flees into the Scottish Highlands. In “Under the Skin” (United Kingdom, 2013), based on the 2000 novel by Michel Faber, Jonathan Glazer shot many of the encounters with hidden cameras and passers-by who did not know they were being filmed.

The film combines science fiction with documentary-style street footage and an abstract, almost black visual world; Mica Levi’s music of sliding strings and beats gives it its pulse. It premiered in Telluride in 2013; in the Venice competition the film was booed and celebrated in equal measure. “Under the Skin” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2014 in the Senator British Night section.

Shown at the 2014 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2014 · Film Archive