ReviewThe Man Who Sold His Skin movie review: Tunisia’s Oscar nominee is a refugee drama doubling as a contemporary art satire

Nominated for best international feature at the 2021 Oscars, this Tunisian film from director Kaouther Ben Hania follows two young lovers separated by civil war

Yahya Mahayni and Dea Liane excel in the lead roles but the rest of the cast struggles, especially Monica Bellucci in her inconsequential role

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Yahya Mahayni (centre) in a still from The Man Who Sold His Skin (category IIA; Arabic, English, French, Flemish), directed by Kaouther Ben Hani. Dea Liane co-stars.

Published: 11:20am, 4 Jul 2022

3/5 stars

Inspired by a controversial piece of living art created by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye, which was itself inspired by Skin, a short story written by Roald Dahl in 1952, The Man Who Sold His Skin tells the story of a Syrian refugee who agrees to have his back tattooed by a celebrated artist.

Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania, it is to date the only Tunisian feature film to secure a nomination in the best international feature category at the Academy Awards, though it ultimately lost out to Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round.

Set in 2011, the film follows young lovers Sam (Yahya Mahayni) and Abeer (Dea Liane) as they become separated by the civil war ravaging their country. Sam is forced to flee to Lebanon, while Abeer, the daughter of a wealthy family, is persuaded to marry a successful diplomat so she can move to Belgium and escape the conflict.

Desperate to follow his lover, but lacking the necessary paperwork, Sam begrudgingly agrees to a bizarre proposal. He will allow his back to be tattooed with the image of a Schengen visa, precisely the document he needs to travel. By becoming a work of art, he is now permitted to leave, so that his back can be displayed at prestigious exhibitions throughout the West.

Soon enough, however, Sam realises that his Faustian pact with artist Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw) has accomplished little more than trade one set of restrictions for another, while also making him the poster child for a variety of radical political causes.