Second Skin (Segunda Piel)

1999

Director: Gerardo Vera

Writers: Ángeles González Sinde, Gerardo Vera

Genre: Drama / Romance

Synopsis: Second Skin examines the struggle one man has between his homosexuality and his heterosexuality. Alberto is the man caught between two worlds, and it is tearing him apart. Director Gerardo Vera takes the time to show his public and hidden life as well as the effects on the people around him. His issues not only bother him, but seriously affect the lives of his wife and his lover.

Elena is Alberto's wife, and she knows that something is wrong. They do not make love as often as possible, and Alberto is staying late at work. She feels ignored, and when she discovers that Alberto is seeing somebody else (who she thinks is a woman) she feels betrayed. Diego is Alberto's lover. He also feels used. Alberto refuses to open himself emotionally to Diego. It's as if Diego is just a means for Alberto to relieve tension. The more confused Alberto becomes, the tenser his relations become with both his wife and his lover. Instead of opening to one or both of them, he withdraws to within himself, and manages to further estrange Elena and Diego.

Alberto refuses to open to anybody. Much of what is going on inside his head never reveals itself in the movie. Worse, Second Skin is guilty of plodding along, nearing the point of tedium. Alberto is a whiner, and watching him begins to become annoying. Especially since there are two people he has who love him dearly and are willing to do what it takes to help him. Sinde and Vera do a much better job of showing how Elena handles the revelation. They take the time to explore her reaction and how it changes the way she goes about her life. They are not as successful with the Diego character, mainly because they just never seem to know quite what to do with him. Molla, Bardem and Gil all give decent performances. If only they had more to work with.

Cast:
Javier Bardem .... Diego
Jordi Mollà ......... Alberto García
Ariadna Gil ......... Elena
Cecilia Roth ........ Eva
Mercedes Sampietro .María Elena
Javier Albalá ...... Rafael
Adrian Sac .......... Adrián
Cristina Espinos .... Ana Mari
Pilar Castro ........ Neus
Ramiro Alonso .... Oriol
Silvia Espigado .... Ingeniera
Carmen Grey ...... Enfermera
Ángela Rosal ....... Tomasa
Luis B. Santiago ... Aitor
Christian Queipo .... Luis

Also Known As:
Segunda Piel (Spain)
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content and some language. (edited version)
Runtime: 110 min
Country: Spain
Language: Spanish
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Stereo


“Hay muchas formas de interpretar un personaje pero, en el fondo, sólo hay una... Procura que sea la tuya” BILLY WILDER

Javier Bardem y Jordi Mollá en la presentación de "Segunda piel". Foto: Jorge Moreno



(...) Cuando preparábamos el plano al amanecer, observé a Javier que paseaba solo por la playa. Me acerqué para verle y ya tenía esa mirada irrepetible de Diego, esa mirada que en sí misma explicaba el desasosiego, la angustia, el miedo a perder para siempre al ser amado, el dolor físico del amor… El frío del amanecer calando sus huesos. “La llaga mortal en medio del corazón” que tan bien define Fernando de Rojas en La Celestina, una mirada que ya le acompañó hasta el final del rodaje. Y ya no había otra posible.

Vino la jefa de maquillaje esa mañana y me dijo: “Gerardo, no hay que hacer nada a Javier, ¿has visto su cara?” Me acerqué a él, le di unas cuantas notas sobre lo que yo pensaba sobre ese estado de ánimo particular y le miré fijamente a los ojos.

El personaje de Diego ya estaba dentro de él. Toda la angustia y la ternura, toda la vulnerabilidad del ser herido de muerte por el amor y por la imposibilidad de entender la reacción de Alberto, su amante, impregnaba esa cara, el rostro de Javier esculpido por el dolor, una imagen que ya me acompaña siempre que pienso en la película.

Creo que hay dos métodos posibles a la hora de meterse en la piel de un personaje. Uno esvivirlo y otro, imaginarlo. (...)