The Skin I Live In

The Skin I Live In is a Spanish thriller film that was written and directed by Pedro Almodovar. Starring Antonio Banderas, the film also features Elena Anaya, Jan Cornet, Marisa Paredes and Roberto Alamo. The story is based upon Mygale, Thierry Jonquet's novel that was first published in French before English, titled Tarantula. Robert Ledgard (Banderas) is a successful surgeon who has created artificial skin that is resistant to insect bites and burns. He presents the results to a medical symposium. However, when it is disclosed that he has conducted illegal experiments on human beings, he is not allowed to continue research. On a secluded estate, Ledgard keeps Vera captive with his servant, Marilia’s help. Because of his experiment’s suspension, he has Marilia dismiss the rest of the servants. Zeca, Marilia's son commits a robbery and asks his mother to hide him out. After spying Vera on the security camera, he brutalizes her. Doctor Robert then arrives and murders Zeca in retaliation. Robert disposes of Zeca and Marilia discloses to Vera that she is both Robert and Zeca’s mother, something that they never knew. In times prior, a man named Vicente worked in his mother's dress shop. He meets Norma who becomes traumatized remembering an incident while they are trying to be incident. She bites him, he knocks her out and flees the scene, which Robert witnesses. Robert finds Vicente and kidnaps him to perform sex reassignment surgery on him. Over that six years, Robert transforms Vicente into a replica of his wife, Vera. After being absent for 4 years, Marilia returns to work for Robert, looking after Vera. She mistakenly reveals that she has been held there against her will for the past six years. Vera's relationship with Robert upsets Marilia and she does not trust her. Fulgencio, a colleague of Robert, sees a news story about a missing patient. He accuses Robert of tampering with the patient’s records and experimenting upon him. Vera supports Robert and asserts that she is a willing participant. Robert and Vera attempt to become intimate, but she tells him that she says she needs lubricant because of the rape and goes to get lubricant. She gets Robert's gun and kills Robert and Marilia.