| Reference Type |
The Big Issue
journal
|
| Title |
Skin Deep: Acclaimed new film Mysterious Skin has survived a conservative backlash and looks set to make its mark in Australian Cinemas |
| Author(s) | Ghita Loebenstein |
| Page Number |
31-31 |
| Comments |
Ghita Loebenstein's review offers insight into the reception of Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin in Australia.
Loebentein's opinions expressed the review are unassuming in her defence of the film. Loebenstein argues that the film is much more than just about paedophilia and child abuse; "...it's about growing up in the aftermath of tramua."
The highlights of the article stem from the interview with Araki, an interview which has appeared in several reviews, in which he expresses many poignant and insightful opinions regarding the themes, subject matter and reception of Mysterious Skin. |
| Synopsis |
Araki reveals his frustration with the manner in which Mysterious Skin has been unfairly placed in the same category as films such as Irreversible and Ken Park. He laments this by arguing that "...the experience of watching [Mysterious Skin] is totally the opposite of watching those movies. They've got really brutal, graphic sex in them. You watch them and it's like being assualted." Araki defends his film by using words such as "lyrical", "sensitive" and "sentimental" to describe how it deals with the subject of child abuse and paedophilia.
Lobenstein describes the attack against Mysterious Skin by Australian Family Association's Richard Egan, and the Festival of Light, a Christian organisation, a "curious indictment" and neither counterpart actually viewed the film before appealing for its ban.
Loebenstein concludes her review by stating "No matter how sensitively handled it is, the alarmist reaction Mysterious Skin has encountered in Australia suggests that the dirtiest word in cinema is still getting under people's skin."
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