True Skin is another short film that seems to exist as a show case for what could be done, rather than a standalone film that works on its own terms. The film puts us into a future of physical and mental computer enhancements which can be bought and replaced, leaving the "naturals" out in the cold and suffering while those with the resources enhance and strive for eternal life. In this world we find that Kay has gotten such an enhancement by stealing it, only to find that although it is very powerful, it is also classified. He now finds himself hunted across the world and seeking a way out via shadowy contacts in Bangkok.
The setting of Bangkok is a good one as it gives the filmmakers a "blank" canvas which is already full of character and life. Onto this colors are enhanced and visual effects added to create a future of artificially enhanced humans in an oppressive landscape inspired by Bladerunner. To speak a little of this aspect, it is impressive how much was done with comparatively little and the short film does look really good for "just" being a short. Others here on IMDb have already lavished praise on this short and I guess most of it is due to the technical aspect, so I'll focus on the aspects they seem to have ignored or forgiven.
Unfortunately this is almost everything else about the film. The focus on visuals means that the only place left to tell the story is in the narration so, again with the Bladerunner inspiration, we get a heavy narration throughout. As an idea I don't mind it but the voice acting is generic "tough guy private dick 101" and the dialogue more or less the same. The biggest downside of this though is that the narration pulls you away from the idea that just because the film looks good and is a sci-fi then it is somehow innovative and unique, and actually reminds you that the narration all the way down to the suggested plot and ideas are also nothing new. It really made me boggle to see this described as "new age visionary" as if this short had not just copied a lot of its content from other sources.
It has does this and I cannot pretend to love it as much as the 10/10 crowd here, but it is still technically and visually very impressive – shame that the terrible narration, plot and general genericness of the whole thing dragged it down to a level below where it deserved to be.
The setting of Bangkok is a good one as it gives the filmmakers a "blank" canvas which is already full of character and life. Onto this colors are enhanced and visual effects added to create a future of artificially enhanced humans in an oppressive landscape inspired by Bladerunner. To speak a little of this aspect, it is impressive how much was done with comparatively little and the short film does look really good for "just" being a short. Others here on IMDb have already lavished praise on this short and I guess most of it is due to the technical aspect, so I'll focus on the aspects they seem to have ignored or forgiven.
Unfortunately this is almost everything else about the film. The focus on visuals means that the only place left to tell the story is in the narration so, again with the Bladerunner inspiration, we get a heavy narration throughout. As an idea I don't mind it but the voice acting is generic "tough guy private dick 101" and the dialogue more or less the same. The biggest downside of this though is that the narration pulls you away from the idea that just because the film looks good and is a sci-fi then it is somehow innovative and unique, and actually reminds you that the narration all the way down to the suggested plot and ideas are also nothing new. It really made me boggle to see this described as "new age visionary" as if this short had not just copied a lot of its content from other sources.
It has does this and I cannot pretend to love it as much as the 10/10 crowd here, but it is still technically and visually very impressive – shame that the terrible narration, plot and general genericness of the whole thing dragged it down to a level below where it deserved to be.