In Aus meiner Haut, couples meet on an island to swap bodies. The stirring film, however, is more than a sci-fi version of body-swap comedies à la Freaky Friday.
There aren’t many films after which you want to lock yourself in the cinema toilet to cry a little in peace. Sci-fi stories that take a surprisingly human vision of the future and use it to negotiate our innermost feelings. Out of My Skin by director Alex Schaad is one such film – and it has been showing in German cinemas since 2 February.
This is what the German sci-fi secret tip Aus meiner Haut is all about
Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler) need a time-out in which they can fully concentrate on their relationship. Because Leyla is severely depressed and in Tristan’s eyes has long since ceased to be the woman he fell in love with.
So the twenty-somethings travel to an island where couples can experience something very special: For one weekend, they swap bodies with another couple assigned by chance to experience themselves and their love for each other anew.
These esoteric-looking ceremonies are led by Leyla’s school friend Stella, who lives in her father’s body (Edgar Selge). But when Leyla and Tristan slip into the skin of Fabienne (Maryam Zaree) and her chavvy boyfriend Mo (Dimitrij Schaad, who wrote the screenplay with his brother Alex Schaad), things really get complicated.
Sex without gender boundaries: Aus meiner Haut is one of the most relevant German films of the year
Fabienne, Mo, Tristan and Leyla
The sci-fi drama first deals with the obvious: Am I still me when I’m in another body? What do I love about my partner and does that carry over across gender boundaries? And: Is it cheating if someone else is in my girlfriend’s body?
Out of My Skin makes complex topics like sexuality and gender tangible, shows one of the most beautiful queer sex scenes in a long time – and could thus make a valuable contribution to current social discussions. No wonder the drama was awarded the Queer Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
The most impressive thing about the sci-fi drama is its handling of depression
The most emotionally harrowing thing, however, is how the film deals with main character Leyla and her depression. Because a different body also brings with it a different hormone balance. Or in this specific case: the freedom to no longer live as if trapped in the mental quicksand of depression, which not only affects mood but also physical sensation.
Depression can make you forget who you used to be and bring you to a point where every breath feels like a mammoth task you can barely manage. To be able to trade that feeling for moments when everything feels lighter, less dull, dark and pointless – who wouldn’t want that? The most revolutionary idea in Out of My Skin is the idea of finally being free of yourself.
Who am I when I am in another body? For Leyla, the answer is clear: happy. That’s why the idea of having to get back into her own skin at the end of the body-swapping experiment becomes her biggest nightmare. Someone on the island will have to make a sacrifice. Because that is also a harsh reality of depression: Not everyone gets a happy ending.
