#in my mother's skin

[cinematicjourney]

In My Mother's Skin (2023) | dir. Kenneth Dagatan

[filmap]

In My Mother's Skin Kenneth Dagatan. 2023

House Hacienda Santa Rosalia, Western Nautical Hwy, Manapla, Negros Occidental, Philippines See in map

See in imdb

[aviculor]

In My Mother's Skin is a Filipino horror movie from last year and it is honestly captivating to watch. In WWII, a family struggling to survive is put in even more jeopardy when the daughter gets lost in the woods and comes across a fae who she asks for help.

My only note so far is that the CG cicadas look obviously fake because they got the legs wrong. I can overlook the part where they swarm all over a dead body, but having anatomical inaccuracies is inexcusable.

That was gory and bleak. I liked it.

[adamwatchesmovies]

In My Mother's Skin (2023)

The film everyone will compare In My Mother’s Skin to is Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. From the child protagonist to the wartime setting, the fairytale characters that turn out to be more sinister than at first glance, the sick mother a young girl has to care for, they have A LOT in common in content and tone. That’s pretty good company to keep.

In 1945, in the Philippines, World War II is coming to an end. The occupying Japanese soldiers know it. Though many of their neighbors haven’t been as lucky, Aldo (Arnold Reyes), his wife (Beauty Gonzalez) and their two children, Tala (Felicity Kyle Napuli) and Bayani (James Mavie Estrella) have managed to remain relatively unscathed through the conflict. As the soldiers become more nervous, the rumours that Aldo’s home contains a stash of stolen gold forces him to leave the family behind. When her mother suddenly becomes ill, Tala must take care of her. In the nearby forest, the young girl meets a fairy, who promises to help.

Though it’s being distributed by Amazon, this is a Filipino film. The folklore it's portraying will feel new to most viewers. The fairy, for instance, isn’t tiny and winged. She’s a full-grown woman wearing an elaborate dress and head piece covered in glittering jewels that evokes insect wings. Though that description doesn’t match what you had in mind when you read the synopsis, you immediately recognize her as a magical creature and Jasmine Curtis-Smith’s performance lets you know right away she’s not to be trusted. Tala knows this. Unfortunately, she has no choice but to accept the creature's help. Laura's mother is sure to die if nothing changes. Things going horribly if Tala accepts the fairy's offer is not necessarily a guarantee. Her father is gone. Tala is certain he'll return soon. You’re not so sure. There’s the housekeeper (Angeli Bayani) there to help, but a part of you wonders if she’s really committed to the family, or if she’s been sticking around because there’s nowhere else to go. Maybe she's hoping to get wind of that rumoured gold. The young girl truly feels alone.

This is a harsh film that doesn’t hold back. Sympathetic characters suddenly become villains. Lives end violently and without warning. The people who aren’t desperate are too consumed by the thought of gold to pull back their punches - children or no children. It’s hard to tell who are worse: the people or the magical creatures with a taste for human flesh. At least the fairy lets you know right away she’s sinister. The betrayals in this story cut deep and everything feels even more impactful because the people in it are so vulnerable.

The one thing holding me back from giving In My Mother’s Skin a higher grade is its similarity to Pan’s Labyrinth. If someone told me they could only watch one, there's no contest. This also means the picture is not quite as memorable, unpredictable, or impactful as it could be. I’m not saying the two films are the same. You could definitely watch both in quick succession without feeling like you’re watching the same movie again. We haven’t seen so many of these grim fairy tale stories that there isn’t room for more - in fact, “In My Mother’s Skin” proves we should be getting them more frequently - but one is just better than the other. That's more of a praise for the Del Toro picture than a criticism for In My Mother's Skin - which leans more into the horror direction and showcases a lot of gore. It's an unsettling tale that showcases a unique folklore and some strong performances from the child actors. (November 30, 2023)

[pizzalover8969]

Day twenty two: In My Mother's skin

This movie was phenomenal, and unfortunately reminded the audience of the horrors in real life.

The slow pacing might not be for anyone, but it's worth it. The soundtrack is eerie, it fits the atmosphere perfectly. I'd 100% watch it again.

I give it a 9/10!

[nightmarish-fallen-angel]

"Women are just objectively more beautiful" "Sexuality isn't a choice because then no one would be attracted to men" "Men are gross and disgusting haha" jokes morph into their final form:

"You transitioning to be more masculine is wasting your natural beauty"

[gothamite-rambler]

People in Gotham questioning the Robins (in this headcanon some of the villains are aware that Batman is his father and some aren't)

Penguin: Why is the younger Robin… why is he brown?

Batman: The younger one?

Batman looked at Damian, who was in his Robin suit and munching on a granola bar. The kid suddenly glanced at his own brown skin and gasped dramatically.

Damian (jokingly): Oh my God, I am!

Sofia: He's funny; we respect the diversity.

Batman: My oldest son is Romani.

Sofia: Really? Fascinating. Isn’t that fascinating, Penguin?

Penguin: Eh, I still think he gave the kid the suit to use him as target practice. But seriously, why is the current one brown? I'm not trying to be rude, but he looks the same age as the first Robin.

Damian: Awesome! I can't wait to tell Nightwing.

Batman (annoyed): His mother is Arabic. When a white guy and an Arabic woman have a baby, a mixed child is born.

Penguin: Wait, Talia is brown?!

Batman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Damian: How did you know about her?

Sofia: I got nosy and found out you're related. Talia adores you so much and you're dad's lucky she hid any photos of what you both might look like. Seriously though, you hooked up with Talia and had a kid, Batman? I knew it would happen with her or Catwoman.

Sofia laughed, which made Batman growl in offense.

Damian: Hooked up?

Batman: He didn’t need to hear that, but yes, he’s my youngest son, and he’s related to her.

Penguin: Now see I forget sometimes that she's brown. I heard she was mixed with something, but never crossed my mind.

Batman: Her father is Ra's Al Ghul.

Penguin: Wait… so he's brown?

Batman: Can you please stop saying "brown"!

Damian: It's fine; I feel like I’m going to hear worse later in life.

Sofia (sympathetic, her brows furrowing): Aww… yeah.

Batman: All right, we're going to leave now enjoy prison.

Penguin: We'll both be out soon. We’ve just been curious about that for years. I almost reported you for kidnapping a little brown boy.

Damian grabbed his father's arm, dragging him away before he could retaliate against the man.

Damian: Let it go. We’ve heard worse.

[thereweredragonshere]

I get really nervous when it comes to colouring things in and I’m fed up of myself so I present my first ever attempt (I’m not joking, first EVER) of shading/lighting without using multiply or add layers. Just me, the god damn colour wheel and a normal layer. And hiccup.

[applestruda]

fungal mage scott

[arttsuka]

I wanted to talk about Toothless and how his design and personality changed for the worst throughout the 3 animated movies (I won't be tackling any of the shows because I haven't watched them)

In the first movie he's at his best. His design is actually amazing, from the overall model structure to the patterns on his skin (which are visible in every shot, especially the ones taking place during the day, without ruining the 'illusion' of his black skin. It actually feels like it's resembling a panther aka black leopard in which the fur patterns are still visible). His face has a more aerodynamic shape, more sharp, a big curve.

His snarky but intelligent personality was really fitting for him. And we got to see more of it as the movie was progressing and he was getting more comfortable with humans.

In the second movie the patterns on his skin are still mostly there, way less prominent but still visible. His face got squashed down (a problem which only because stronger in the 3rd movie) but as a whole he still looks presentable, kinda. His posture changed too (but I'm too lazy to find evidence, you'll have to take my word for it).

I remember not having a problem with his personality in the second movie which is why I was surprised to see that this was only half true. He acts more domesticated, that's to be expected, but only around humans? When he interacts with other dragons it's like he's a completely different character, closer to what he became in httyd 3 than 1. He's still quite intelligent and more used to human equipment and people in general. In the first part of the film (especially this scene with Hiccup) he acts like how I'd imagine he should be in the 3rd movie, here it should have been a 'middle' ground, not 100% domesticated but not movie 1 feral either.

In the third movie he suffered the worst. Gone are the patterns on his skin, he's solid black now. His face got weirder too.

His personality got reduced to this stupid, slobbering 'dog'. His pupils are always dilated and his tongue almost constantly out. He acts unintelligent and he doesn't have that snarky personality he had in the first and even the second movie. He's basically a different character altogether. (That scene where he tries to 'woo' the light fury is embarrassing at best and shows exactly what's wrong with his character now).

They did it to make him more 'likable' to younger audiences + to make a good visual contrast to the light fury (who has an undercooked personality AND awful design as well), which is weird because they gave the light fury patterns on her wings?

The light fury looks like a beluga whale in the worst way possible. She has almost nothing going on visually to the point it doesn't even make sense. Her skin looks fragile, she's so weirdly smooth for no reason. It would legit be better if they took a night fury model and painted it white.

They gave her a 'cat' personality and took it away from Toothless (why couldn't both be 'cats'?). Also she's the 'girl' character, her only purpose is to be the romantic interest. She adds nothing to the film.

No comment in the live action design. Just ugly. Atrocious even.

Also something else that's been bothering me from the live action remake is this scene.

They've basically recreated every scene exactly as it was in the original so far (which is a bad thing) but the slight hesitation Toothless showed before touching Hiccups hand was the one thing they chose not to include? (I know the scene wasn't meant to have that in the beginning and it was an error in animation which they decided to keep because it gave the scene more personality so, why not include it in the live action?)

[everytaylorswiftsongisaboutcats]

[cinematicjourney]

In My Mother’s Skin (2023) | dir. Kenneth Dagatan

[meownotgood]

WOAH WAIT A MINUTE 🤚 HOLD TJR. PHONE 🤚 WOAH. WoAH'! ''''!!!!!!!!!

[esqueletosgays]

UN FILM DE ALMODÓVAR // AN ALMODÓVAR FILM

[cinnamorwll]

tumblr is so cool i mean i could just post stuff like this

[yasmeensh]

I have decided to stop meddling with this piece. It has to be done at some point, and here it is! I'm happy with how it turned out 😁 My last chimpanzee painting was two years ago, so it's time I make another one! Painted in acrylics and touched up with CSP. Shared some process shots too, just below :)

it was very messy.... and the lighting made a HUGE difference in the end!