Second Skin (1999) (AKA Segunda Piel)
Note: Some Spoilers
Often when I watch movies, I imagine
a Hollywood pitch meeting. When I was watching “Second
Skin,” I imagined one something like this.
“Hey, let’s remake ‘Making Love.’
It was ahead of its time. People are ready for a movie
like that now.”
“But, gee, isn’t it actually kind
of dated. Do gay guys really get married to straight
women these days? Would a wife be really surprised
to find out her husband was secretly gay? And what
about the depressing ending? Modern audiences wouldn’t
buy that!”
“Yeah. Hey, you know, if it was
about a Hispanic guy, a real macho guy. Someone no
one would suspect of being gay. A guy who really couldn’t
accept himself as gay. That’d make it work, wouldn’t
it?”
Such is the set-up of “Second Skin.”
In the film, Jordi Molla plays Alberto, a guy who
works in the aircraft industry (I never could figure
out exactly what it was he did) who shares a home
with his attractive wife and young son. Everything
seems to be just fine even though the couple are having
some issues with intimacy. But Alberto has a secret
life, a sexual relationship as strong and as passionate
as any he has ever had, with Diego, a young doctor
played by Spanish hottie Javiar Bardem (This movie
was actually made before “Before Night Falls”).
For two hours we watch Alberto flounce
around trying to decide who he is and what he is comfortable
with. When his wife discovers his secret, they try
to mend the marriage. But Diego keeps coming back
into Alberto’s life. And every time he does, Alberto
flounces back to his gay ways. All of this builds
up to an emotional climax where Alberto must determine
who he is and what kind of life he wants to lead.
As Diego, Bardem is the only thing
that makes this Fassbinderian drama work. Bardem is
charming, sexual, open and honest. We care deeply
about him. And the actor’s talent makes Diego’s character
flaw of obsessive love easy to believe and understand.
Likewise, Ariadna Gil’s (“Belle
Epoque”) performance as Elena, Alberto’s wife, is
quite likeable and realistic. We see her hurt and
understand its depth. We also see that she is stymied
by all that is happening to her. Although her initial
response to her husband’s infidelity with a man is
one of disgust, as the film evolves, and her character
traverses its evolution, she becomes far more understanding
and accepting. It is a textured performance from Gil
and one that allows her both realism and pathos.
Meanwhile, Molla is stuck in a thankless
character that we, as openly gay American males, simply
cannot understand. He’s not a player and he is not
trying to hurt anyone; Molla makes Alberto’s quandary
plausible and realistic. But we do not realize the
depth of Alberto’s problem until the very end of the
film, where his Hispanic machismo and schizophrenia
due to living with as secret really begin to come
into focus. Molla gives a wonderful performance leading
up to this crux, but as Americans, by the time we
put it all together, it’s a little late in the movie.
Director Gerardo Vera create a smoldering
and passionate world in the film with his opening
credits, where artistic images and smoke morph into
mirrored reflections and intimate physical figures.
The score by Roque Banos also helps to create a lush
and passionate world for Sinde and his cast. And its
tendency to be slightly on the side of melodramatic
also helps create the proper mood and atmosphere.
This is Oscar caliber music on the soundtrack.
“Second Skin” is worthy of an American
release. Sure, it is Bardem’s name that will help
generate interest in a film that is over three years
old. But this film is not really for gay audiences,
who can see the ending coming a mile away. This is
one for the straight folks. And its passionate gay
sex scenes, with plenty of nudity, may shock them
more than the stereotypical, Fassbinderian ending.
Note:
In Spanish with subtitles although
one song in that language, sung by a black woman,
is not subtitled.
Writen by Ángeles González Sinde.
Molla was nominated for a Goya for
Best Lead Actor in 2000.
This is the 3rd of 4 film since
1996 years to be called “Second Skin.”
The print I saw at Agliff (Austin
Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival) was in
horrible shape even though the film is yet to be released
(with subtitles) in the US. It has played at some
festivals in English speaking countries, including
the U.S.
