"Skin" Movie Review

Skin was my favorite of the three movies I reviewed. It was a great movie about segregation in Africa in the 1950's. Sophie Okonedo starred as Sadra Laing a white girl with colored skin whose parents(unaware of their black ancestry) fight to have her classified as a white person so that she could be accepted by society. Her father Abraham Laing played by Sam Neil is a man stubborn and racist despite his love for his black daughter. Sandras mother Sannie Laing played by Alice Krige loves Sandra the way she is regardless of her classification, but in spite of her feelings on the matter she follows through in support of her husband. Sandra is raised as a white girl until she reaches young adulthood, and realizes that she is black. Abraham has Sandra arrested for running away with one of his workers, Petrus Zwan who she falls in love and becomes pregnant. She leaves her family to stay with Petrus in the "ghetto," and is banned by her father to never return home again. She has two children by Petrus who begins to resent and abuse Sandra for her white background, and the love she still has for her parents who left her in jail for loving him. Sandra leaves him and trys to reconnect with her family who have disconnected themselves from her completely. Sandra continues her life working and caring for her children and in honor of her family business opens up her own convenience store next to her home.

The movie setting was in Africa 1950-80's. It started off in the present showing Sandra Laing as an adult working in a factory, and then it flashbacks to the her life as a child. I loved that the movie had a different style and opening than most movies.

I loved the controversy in this movie because it showed the ignorance of white Afrikana to their black ancestry. It showed how ignorant black Africans were to the fact they were betraying their people by tearing down their homes and destroying their property for the white man. It showed how white school educators mistreated Sandra by beating on her because her father wouldnt remove her from the school, and the differences between what they taught about blacks and whites.

The triumph in this movie came when the courage one young lady so shy, and insecure with who she is and where she belongs realizes she can survive all on her own as long as she never gives up and keeps her faith. It's about the strength one young woman had to gain against rejection from her people, her parents, and her husband. Because of what she looked like on the outside, and the choices she made because of what she believed. Against all odds she overcame loss, fear, and heartache, but her pride, courage, and faith kept her strong.

This movie is both informative, heartwarming mostly because its based on a true story. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.