Skin (***)

Directed by: Anthony Fabian

Starring: Sophie Okonedo, Ella Ramangwane, Sam Neill, Alice Krige, Tony Kgoroge, Hannes Brummer, Anna-Mart van der Merwe

Seen: January 28^th 2010

*** Out of ****

Sandra Laing (Okonedo) was born to white parents in South Africa in 1955, but she was not white herself. Geneticists did not rule out the possibility of “dormant” genes from earlier generations being the cause for this, but their claim that most white South Africans have some black blood in them was a widely scoffed at theory, since this was (we were) a proudly (perversely so) white minority rule at the time.

Abraham (Neill) and Sannie Laing (Krige) were the proud parents of Leon (Brummer), Sandra (played by Ramangwane as a young girl) and later on a younger brother too (also of darker skin). Abraham was a mightily conflicted Afrikaner man, protecting his daughter from racism but himself evidently a racist (he wouldn’t take money from black people’s hands for instance, they would have to place it on the counter in front of him for him to pick it up again, just one small trait of many…). These conflicting images and Sandra’s bad luck with terrible dates with some really bad Afrikaner seeds drove her away from her white family and into the welcoming arms of Petrus Zwane (Kgoroge), who loved her and started a family with her (after eloping with her, aged 15, to Swaziland).

The smart thing the movie does is to not overplay the apartheid angle. It gives the truth without being overly manipulative in its efforts to vilify the white man (we did that ourselves anyways). And it also does not keep the black people on the viewers’ good sides, there are bad seeds on this side too, we are all human, and that should be our defining trait above skin colour. There is only one instance in the movie that ground me up the wrong way – Afrikaans is vilified in one scene, not the Afrikaner per se, but the language, which makes no sense at all. Vilify people, yes, but do not stereotype everyone who speaks the language. The movie is however a thoughtful and moving portrait of a family torn apart by apartheid, from both sides of the fence.

Sam Neill and Alice Krige both do a wonderful job of acting as South Africans, and some other Hollywood movies, though good, can definitely take a lesson on perfecting this (Invictus…). It was in fact strange to think that Sam Neill was Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Alice Krige was the Borg Queen in Star Trek – they simply became South Africans here. Sophie Okonedo also fills the lead role to capacity, and you never think for one second that she is actually British. The sets were impressive, and I constantly wondered at the authentic look of 50’s to 90’s South Africa, down to the details of vehicle registration plates and all. Even the use of an old Afrikaans folk song was inspired.

Those few who will make time for Skin will not regret it, as the story is beautifully told and the time in history expertly realised. The brutal honesty also dragged me into the story, and I cared more for the characters than I usually do. Skin might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are much worse ways to spend 2 hours.