I have just watched it on Netflix. I've yet to name a Spanish movie that I did not really like. May be it was "Leaving" (2009), Partir (original title), which I think is an exception, for Sergi López was a miscast. Everyone's acting in The Next Skin, including Sergi López were very good. I was really impressed with Àlex Monner performance. The film kept me engaged from the first minute through the very end. The tension was building up nicely and kept me guessing what the next scene was going to bring. I deeply cared about the characters. The ending was totally different from what I thought it would be. Overall The Next skin is a nicely made film I recommend to watch.
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smithellie196620 May 2017
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timotteart20 March 2021...but a lot of plot holes.
Great acting across the board, especially from the young lead.
Why wouldn't a DNA test be done first thing to verify the blood relationship one way or the other before getting people emotionally involved who may not be parent/child?
Would you really take back in a child you had been hoping was alive but hadn't seen for eight years, give him a key to the house and go back to work the next morning? wth? Wouldn't it be wise to take a few days off and spend time with him...ease him into the new environment/situation. What Gabriel was going through in making that transition from the youth center or whatever to a home with a mom he doesn't remember would be very stressful, not something to take in stride as though it were not.
Where the hell did the gay/bi thing between the guys come from out of the blue? I saw no hints of that attraction whatsoever, and as handsome as the two young men were, believe me when I say I was looking for them. They're getting ready to rape this drunk girl and then all of a sudden the two guys start making out with no hesitancy whatsoever, Gabriel turns around eager to take it, Joan's all into it and then boom...Gabriel's out of the mood again because of something Joan said. That scene was hot, I guess, but completely unearned.
The setting, atmosphere, acting, direction were all fine, I just kept thinking about the lack of a DNA test and how unlikely it is to skip that in this day and age.
I don't hate the movie but it annoys me when such huge issues are left hanging or unaddressed. -
kosmasp9 December 2020It is easy to identify with a story this broad ... with the mystery of it and with the implication. It is easy to understand both sides ... well to a degree. Because we know or see how the return (or is it?) of someone affects not just one family, but many others.
Especially when that individual has certain issues he has to solve or understand himself. A movie for the mind ... with things you may not approve of (love wise and other... wise). Still the tension is there and it is more than well played. Low budget drama for those who care -
DogeGamer201517 August 2020It's a movie with a simple plot, but it has enough depth to be interesting.
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baunacholi-861591 January 2023The story reminded me in parts at the true yet utterly bizarre case of Nicholas Barclay. He disappeared in the early 90s in Texas. The 13 year old boy went out for a basketball game and vanished into thin air. Presumingly been murdered...Only to be found a few years later in Spain. Looking, talking, behaving completely different ... but despite glaring differences some bought into their finally found son, N. B. Wanted to believe at all costs...However the jaw dropping moment came soon - Frederic Bourdin pretended to be the lost son four quite some time - until he confessed... Our story here in The next skin is not as half as twisted as reality but surely has it moments. Esp towards the last third it picks up steam, uneasiness and dramatic moments. I somewhat liked the movie(s story) despite its flaws... esp the gross hunting scenes I found particularly misplaced and annoying. Still, it might have helped to deepen the gritty, moody and overall real and sad atmosphere.
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ulicknormanowen29 June 2021A strange tale of the prodigal son : Gabriel (Alex Monner) returns to his home to find his mother (Emma Suarez) a widow and an uncle (the always reliable Sergi Lopès) ,who becomes jealous because he considers Gabriel ,the son, a rival .Which is not entirely false,because the mother/son relationship is oedipian ,and thus may explain the short homosexual scene with Joan,a pal who knows (too) many things about the teenager's past .
In fact , the screenwriters allows some doubt to remain about the so called son's identity ("she would have welcomed a daughter!" uncle (mom's lover) claims ); and if the boy seems to remember his childhood's friend , there's a (black) gap in his memory,as far as his late father is concerned ; the screenplay is sometimes not firm enough , in this story with echoes of Tennessee Williams ;also handicapped by very dark scenes ,the cinematography sometimes leaving something to be desired .
In spite of these reservations , " la propera pell" can be recommended ; the Gabriel/youth worker is more complex than it appears at first sight : the man tells his protégé that he ,too, was a teenager with a past he wants to forget (this is a cliché, but it avoids pathos and sentimentality). The snow-covered mountains are shrouded in a shady atmosphere and an impending threat hangs on the hero ;the mother ,a woman from the south ,longs for a sunny place (a metaphor). Bruno Todeschini 's lines are generally in French ,but 90% the lines are in Catalan. -
lexva516 February 2021This film is about a problematic young man being reintroduced with his mother. He has amnesia about his past. Is he the real missing child? By the end of the film I couldn't care less. It is a sad film about miserable people living in a hostile environment. Everyone seems to be angry and lonely or bored. The film trudges along to its sad ending without any redeeming feature in its grey colour monotones and linear story to make it more interesting other than its misery. The characters other than the main one are not developed and makes the film boring. Besides there are no likeable characters at all. The acting though is first class throughout especially by the main protagonist.
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ComedyFan201029 September 2017A very well done movie about a lost child coming home after many years.
It is written in a very good way that keeps up a mystery. We wonder if Leo is Gabriel or not. And it can be because he is lying or maybe because just like the mother he recognizes it because he wishes to have a family. Besides that we have to wonder what happened with his father.
The scenery is fitting for the movie. Dark and melancholy it keeps up the mood.
The movie depends on acting. And it sure doesn't disappoint. All of the actors were amazing in their performance. Àlex Monner does a great job. We see this tough looking teenager but we also see the lost kid inside coping with the past, memories, adapting and questioning who he is. Emma Suárez as Ana rightfully won an award for her performance. She is the one who has no doubts. We can see her awkwardness in the beginning trying to get the son back in and also the happiness she feels. The two have a great chemistry and make the relationship of two people looking for family and finding each other (whether we at the moment believe that he is Gabriel or not) very believable.
Watching this kind of made me hope that in reality people have mandatory blood tests before being reintroduced to avoid all the pain and worries the characters have in the movie. -
shivasitaraman27 August 2017really loved the way this film built up to the ending. All the cast was great and like many a Spanish movie, this did not disappoint. Highly recommend this movie. I wonder if these are other movies with Alex Monner in the lead. He brought out the anguish of the character without overdoing it!