Directing: B
Acting: B+
Writing: B-
Cinematography: A-
Editing: B+

The Man Who Sold His Skin is nothing if not a great—if imperfect—conversation piece, an examination of exploitation and art that itself becomes a work of art. Is the movie itself exploitative? Maybe, though certainly not to the same degree as the “art” within the film.

This is a movie ripe for discussion, from coffee shops to college classrooms, which is both its strength and its weakness. It might have far greater strength overall if not or its script, which seems ironically unaware of its own pretensions, making thematic declarations that are sometimes amusingly obvious. But, between its pacing and its often beautiful cinematography, particularly in its art gallery settings, I must admit for the majority of its run time I enjoyed this movie more than I ultimately feel it deserves. How do you parse such a point of view? If you enjoy a film, how does it not deserve such enjoyment?

I don’t know, maybe I feel too easily sucked in—dare I say duped?—by such superficiality. This film is not nearly as “deep” as writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania thinks it is. Still, there ‘s a lot of detail regarding its production to consider. This is the seventh film ever submitted by Tunisia for consideration of the Academy Award for Best International Feature, and the first one actually to get nominated. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of, even if it has no chance of winning.

The story is inspired by a real-life example of a live person being converted into a work of art, contractually obligated to sit on display in exhibits. Here Ben Hania grafts that concept onto the ongoing war in Syria, starting the story in 2011, around the start of conflict there that continues to this day. Sam Ali (an excellent Yahya Mahayni) gets arrested for using revolutionary talk as part of a marriage proposal on a train, and then has to leave Syria to avoid jail time, leaving his beloved, Abeer (Dea Liane), behind to marry another man in the absence of other options. When Sam is discovered in Beirut crashing art exhibits for the free food, a renowned artist makes him a proposition: offer up his back as a canvas, and he can get a visa that will allow him to travel freely through multiple countries as a legal immigrant.

The Man Who Sold His Skin thus has a lot to say about art and exploitation, depicting artist Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw) as a soulless capitalist. The same goes for his assistant, Soraya (Monica Bellucci), who seems to serve as both a sort of broker and a handler. Many scenes depict the world of high art with millions of dollars being exchanged, and I would be curious to know how accurate the depiction is. What this film is saying about it is never in question, but the artist characters lack dimension.

I suppose that’s the crux of my issue with this film: it has no real insight into the world it’s depicting, serving as observation more than commentary with any true clarity. As cinematic empty calories go, however, this is a film that is hard to resist, thanks to great performances and intermittent gallery sequences that feel like something halfway between a music video and a dream. A bit of Paolo Sorrentino influence can be detected, giving this movie a distinct sensibility that may speak to some more than others. It spoke to me.

Predictably, Sam finds this whole scenario to be much more than he bargained for. And then the end brings two twists in quick succession, the first being an attempt at boldness that just comes across as thematically gross, the second being a kind of about-face that doesn’t quite make up for the grossness, much as it is clearly trying. This could be where the layered questions of exploitation come in. If this film’s overall point lacks clarity, is it exploiting the Syrian war for the sake of its own art, the same way Jeffrey Godefroi is exploiting Sam Ali? I suppose you could just pay to see it VOD and then discuss.

Overall: B