Review: The Man Who Sold His Skin Takes on Artistic Commodification

Art, commerce, and immigration are inextricably bound in this playful and gently moving film.

The Man Who Sold His Skin
Samuel Goldwyn Films

Art, commerce, and immigration are inextricably bound in Kaouther Ben Hania’s playful and gently moving, if uneven, The Man Who Sold His Skin. As odd and seemingly implausible as the film’s titular event may seem, Ben Hania was inspired by the true story of a man who was tattooed by controversial Belgian neo-conceptual artist Wim Delvoye and sold to a collector in 2008. Here, the human objet d’art is a Syrian immigrant, Sam Ali (Yahya Mahayni), who, upon leaving behind his girlfriend, Abeer (Dea Liane), when he fled his homeland after getting in trouble with the authorities, finds himself in the orbit of an influential artist, Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw), who convinces him to allow his back to be used as a canvas for an enormous tattoo of the much-coveted Schengen visa.

The Man Who Sold His Skin’s satire of the high-end art world, like that of Dan Gilroy’s Velvet Buzzsaw and Ruben Östlund’s The Square, is more than a bit obvious and ham-fisted, thanks in large part to De Bouw’s especially over-the-top performance as the wacky, narcissistic capital-A artiste. But fortunately, the film’s use of a familiar milieu as a means of critiquing immigration policies and the resentment and racism that animated people and policies in countries taking in refugees is more pointed and surprising in its approach.

While Sam is obligated to attend various events and exhibitions, sitting still while his back is on display for art-world patrons, his status as a living artwork affords him not only the freedom to travel, it also allows him to obtain a visa. Sam is clearly a victim in the grand scheme of things, but Ben Hania refuses to pander to any audience impulses to see him as nothing but a helpless pawn. When a representative from an organization for the defense of Syrian refugees shows up at the five-star hotel where Sam is staying to tell him that he’s being exploited, the man gets a door to the face. The moment isn’t subtle, but as similarly evinced by Sam’s cock-of-the-walk sauntering through empty museums in his silk robe, it’s a crucial acknowledgement that he very much enjoys the luxuries afforded by his deal with Jeffrey.

Advertisement

Of course, The Man Who Sold His Skin never loses sight of the demeaning nature of Sam’s situation, often showing him from behind when he’s on display with his head hunched over, and in a manner that makes him look more like an object than a man. He’s also frequently framed within doorways and glimpsed behind windows and reflected in mirrors, thus spotlighting our relation to him as another kind of art object: a fictional film protagonist whose journey invites us to reflect on our preconceptions of the refugee crisis and how certain forms of philanthropy on behalf of immigrants and refugees are inherently exploitative.

The Man Who Sold His Skin is less forceful in its commentary when focusing on its central love story, which relies on a few too many coincidences to generate much pathos. And the film’s potshots at wealthy art patrons can be reductive, especially in an over-the-top scene during which Sam lashes back at his exploitation and Western prejudices by casually faking a suicide bomb attack. But for all its flaws, Ben Hania’s film finds some intriguing new avenues to explore the dehumanization of refugees and the consequences of artistic commodification, and does so in ways that are just as often as humorous as they are unsettling. That it rarely provides concrete answers to the questions it poses speaks to Ben Hania’s general effectiveness at provoking and challenging her audience rather than lecturing them.

Score: 
 Cast: Yahya Mahayni, Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw, Monica Bellucci, Saad Lostan, Darina Al Joundi, Jan Dahdoh, Christian Vadim, Marc de Panda  Director: Kaouther Ben Hania  Screenwriter: Kaouther Ben Hania  Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films  Running Time: 104 min  Rating: R  Year: 2020  Buy: Video

Derek Smith

Derek Smith's writing has appeared in Tiny Mix Tapes, Apollo Guide, and Cinematic Reflections.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.