Under the Skin (film)

Under the Skin (United Kingdom, 2013) 
Direction: Jonathan Glazer 

Director Jonathan Glazer made headlines recently with his film The Zone of Interest. A reason for Poetry International to go back in time to his other very impressive book adaptation, Under the Skin. The film, which in the meantime has become a classic with cult status, based on the eerie novel of the same name by Michel Faber, became in Glazers hands something between a documentary, horror, experiment and even something of a love story. Scarlett Johansson is an alien who picks up men in Glasgow and the Scottish countryside. They disappear, never to return. It makes Under the Skin, although not truly cruel, strange to look at, a unique viewing experience which also functions as a contemplation on our species, full of desire and, at the same time, reluctance.   

The film will be briefly introduced by Thomas van den Berg. 

Thomas van den Berg is a musician, performer and composer; former film scholar and programmer, videographer, photographer & writer. Thomas is a cultural glutton and film nerd and loves to share his enthusiasm. After completing his master's degree in Film Studies cum laude (his thesis culminated in the publication “Film Studies in Motion,” prior to that he collaborated on Palgrave Macmillan's “Women Screenwriters”) he worked as a programmer, writer, videographer and photographer at film platform Cinetree. At various universities and festivals, he has been a guest speaker, moderator, panel and jury member. He loves all film: be it Japanese avant-garde, Iranian New Wave, or a pulpy American romcom. As a musician and composer, he provides theater, video installations, performances and film with music (including in collaboration with Groningen/Amsterdam collective Kinetophone).