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Skin (2008/I) More at IMDbPro »

15 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Good film based on a true story, 9 February 2009

Author: johno-21 from United States

I saw this last month at the 2009 Palm springs International Film Festival. This is based on the true story set in South Africa during the Apartheid system of a Sandra Laing (Sophie Okonedo), who was born of dark skin to two Afrikaaners of white Eropean descent Abraham (Sam Neill) and Sannie (Alice Krige) Laing. Sandra is a genetic throwback because unknown to her parents, and like many Afrikaaners, there was mixed blood in their heritage between the Euopeans who settled in South Africa and the indigenous Africans. The story begins with Sophie getting expelled from an all-white school because of her differences in appearance. She is reclassified as dark. Her father (who is himself a bigot) fights to have her reclassified as white. She eventually is but against her family wishes she causes an unbreakable divide when she decides to marry a black man and have herself reclassified yet again as black. This is the feature film directorial debut of writer/director Anthony Fabian who was also present at my screening for an audience Q&A. The screenplay is from Helen Crawley but there was a book written recently by author Judith Stone called When She Was White that goes more into the complete story of Sophie's life. This film covers Sophie from around age 10 through her first marriage. Both Fabian's film and Stone's book had the cooperation of Sophie herself in their making. An excellent cast with three veterans in the principal roles with Neill, Krige, and the young but very busy Okonedo who was an Oscar nominee for Hotel Rwanda. This is a good film but it plays more like a made for TV movie and HBO, BET, Hallmark, A&E, AMC or Lifetime should all consider showing this. I would give this an 7.5 out of 10 and recommend it.

8 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Back In The Bad Old Days, 8 August 2009

Author: druid333-2 from United States

Anthony Fabian's 'Skin'is a powerful drama of South Africa's shameful history of white colonial Apartheit rule,that was thankfully overthrown. The story starts in 1965 when a young ten year old girl, Sandra has been thrown out of school for being black,despite the fact that she is of white,European parents. Her father,Abraham (played by screen veteran,Sam Neill)fights to get her back in school,by challenging the South African courts to insist that she's white). When he is unsuccessful,the family resigns to the fact that their daughter has to deal with the burden that she will be treated badly,because she is regarded as black. As the years go by,Sandra (now played as an adult by Sophie Okonedo,who absolutely shone in 'Hotel Rwanda')has grown into a beautiful woman,who is desired by one of the black locals, which disturbs Abe much (Abe is as much a vile racist as the rest of the population of the town). The rest of the film spans over a twenty plus year time frame that tells much of South Africa's social history,set against Sandra's tempestuous own personal history. The cast is rounded out by Alice Krige (as Sandra's long suffering mother,Sannie),Tony Kgorogue,as Sandra's lover & father of her children, who turns out to be hot tempered & abusive toward Sandra, as well as a cast of South African actors that turn in shining performances. The screenplay (written by Helen Crawley,Jessie Keyl & Helena Kriel) makes the most out of what was easily a dark period in South Africa's social history (and what some,even to this day,would love nothing better than to do but bring back). As this film is an import,there is no MPAA rating,but contains some strong language,brief nudity & sexuality,and some truly disturbing images of racist fueled violence.

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