its realism. the poetry of story. the delicacy to give a delicate subject in inspired, wise manner. a slice of life. the desire of woman. the gesture of man. the love. the sacrifices. and the last scene as the piece of circle. something special defines this film. an emotion, a feeling, an obscure-well known theme developed in the perfect way. result - a poem. in which the expectation to return to the start point, like suggestion in two scenes, missing. because the love is more than a beautiful emotions puzzle. it has a price. and, in essence, this is the key for discover the blood traces, the sheets, the barefoot print and the gesture who could change everything. short, an admirable work.

I guess the title could not be more revealing to what this short movie is about. Obviously the poster also adds a note to that and should be an indicator if this offends you or makes you sick to your stomach. If you can't handle that, do not watch it, simple as that. The movie is not trying to fool you into watching it, it tells you what's inside (if you forgive the pun).It's kind of like the saying, that tells us, that it's the inside that counts. And the movie goes deeper than just touching the ... skin of it. Obviously there is a lot of clichés that are being dissected (you can do lots of those, though the jokes of the movie are more sophisticated than that, because the movie is trying to tell us something). Love is touching ... and that can hurt ... more than you know

There is a great piece of special effect work at the heart of this film. As the title suggests (states), the male character of the central couple, fully removes his skin for his partner – spending all but the opening seconds of the film as a glistening, bloody biological model of sorts. It is to the credits film that you get beyond this very quickly, and that I found that after a few shots where I focused on the technical aspect of it, really I was more drawn into the situation rather than the effects. The story is narrated by the woman of the couple; she is happy that he has done this for her, even though it has some downsides, however he changes through the film – clearly not happy with the change his sacrifice has brought compared to the interrelationship benefits which haven't really stepped up.I will not say it is a perfect modern parable in this way, however there is a lot of interest to see this relationship where one of the partners has significantly changed himself for the benefit of the other. The sense of excitement early on is one thing, but with friends, with work, and just fundamentally within himself, he starts to be unhappy with the change – or rather the fact that he has given up so much and not seem to have had a lot back. The film doesn't push this onto us, but the woman of the couple does seem to have the easiest role, and although we hear her voice and not his, we do not see anything in her life where she sacrifices, apart from dealing with the impact of his new look on their furnishings.It is patient as it does this, and I enjoyed the slow pace, and the fact that the film itself sits back with the woman as the narrator – letting us see things ourselves while also being within her perspective to a point. I would have liked that it maybe go deeper with this aspect, but it still works as a relationship study, albeit an extreme one. Technically the film is well made, and as good as the central effect is, I also enjoyed the attention to detail around the set, with bloody smears and marks. The two leads are very good, but ironically the film belongs to Maguire with her narration and ability to silently deliver feeling and thought. Armesto is solid but broader and more obvious with his emotions and, while the special effect is good, he doesn't totally act/move like he is wearing less, rather than more. Still, as a pair, they work very well together.Initially arresting for its title and effects, it is a film worth getting into because there is an engaging and interesting relationship piece here – even if it is not a wholly successful one.

Ben Aston's He Took His Skin Off for Me is one of the most literal short films I have yet to see, as it concerns the relationship between two people, where, the male (Sebastian Armesto) loved his partner (Anna Maguire) so much he decided to take every part of his skin completely off his body, leaving him nothing but a bright red display of muscles and ventricles. The eleven-minute short film chronicles the relationship these two have created with one another, with the female of the relationship talking about the struggles that have come about with her lover carrying out such a drastic act. While love-making and intimacy hasn't suffered, cleaning the house has become more of a common practice, as her partner leaves bloodstains all over the floors, carpets, sheets, and clothes, and his job has suffered a sharp decline due to his inability to close deals because of the distraction of his physical appearance. Nonetheless, the two share a strong bond and are largely unfazed by the opinions and glares of outsiders.Before anything else is said, special effects artists Colin Arthur and Jen Cardno must be commended for their unfathomable anatomical makeup, perfected and executed using no computer animation and all practical effects. Aston states Armesto sometimes spent up to eight hours in a makeup chair, but for good reason, as he is so breathtakingly realistic and impeccably perfected that one almost wonders what the special effects crew did with his skin. With that, the film conducts itself in a very straight-forward, minimalist manner, which could be the most disappointing element of all because the film walks with its concept rather than letting it run on its own. We watch things that play out to what we expect and nothing really more.That isn't necessarily such a hefty criticism, however, seeing as the entire cast is, for one, thoroughly capable at acting in a low-key fashion, and secondly, the makeup and special effects work is so fascinating to view. Aston's methodical storytelling, reliant predominately on dreamlike pacing and narration, makes for a strangely calming, almost reassuring aesthetic to an already deranged piece of work that is effectively defies categorization in every regard. He Took His Skin Off for Me shows just how far someone in a relationship will go to express their feelings and affection to the one they love, even if the action doesn't make much sense or liable to be met with perplexing stares and such from others.Starring: Sebastian Armesto and Anna Maguire. Directed by: Ben Aston.