It's 1965 Eastern Transvaal, South Africa. Sandra Laing is the young daughter of white Afrikaner parents Abraham (Sam Neill) and Sannie Laing (Alice Krige). She is kicked out of her all-white school for her African features despite being born as white. She is reclassified as colored and Abraham overturns it in court. At 17 in 1973, she has a relationship with black Petrus which drives a rift in between her family.It's a compelling intriguing real life story. It takes a look at Apartheid from a different angle. There is a tough question at the center of the movie that is left uncertain. It does leave the movie at a disadvantage dealing with real people. Nothing is quite as clean in real life.

I finally saw "Skin" last night. I won't recap the story here. I was fascinated by Sandra Liang's heartbreaking experience, but I missed the movie in the theatre. The actors – Neill, Krige, Okonedo and Kgoroge – performed their roles well. The film, overall, is not perfect. I agree that Sophie Okonedo was not completely believable as the teenage Sandra Laing, but that's a small quibble given Okonedo's gargantuan talent.What really saddens me is that so many people are more concerned with debunking the notion that two white-looking people can (biologically) produce a black-looking child than with South Africa's brutal, hateful apartheid regime that tore this family apart, and turned a beautiful young girl's life into a living hell. All of my white friends summarily dismissed Sandra Laing's story and rejected the possibility that it could be true. For them, it's easier to question Sannie Laing's marital fidelity than to keep an open mind about polygenic inheritance (genetic throwback). They should know by now that we don't know everything about genetic curve balls.The scenes that disturbed me the most were 1) Sandra enduring humiliating tests (measuring of her forehead and pencil stuck in her hair), 3) Sandra bleaching and seriously burning her skin with a dangerous homemade concoction of chemicals, and 3) Sandra's realization of her parents' deep denial of their own racism. It was painful to watch her attempt to survive relentless rejection. I'm convinced she loved Petrus in some way, but I believe she may have chosen to go with him at 15 years old to escape daily psychological and emotional torment. Unfortunately, the "one-drop rule" and the notion of white racial purity (tying to white superiority) remain rampant today, and even in the good old US of A. We will likely solve world hunger and cure every disease imaginable before we eradicate that one! Oh, and Tony Kgoroge is gorgeous. He has beautiful skin and a smile that could melt…well, anything! I loved watching him in "Invictus".

This is a great film that is based on the true story of Sandra Liang in South Africa. Sandra, who has dark skin, was born to two white parents in the heat of the apartheid. She struggles to define herself against the classifications of society. Her dad, who is racist, causes strain on her own self discovery, and strains her relationship with her mother as well. The film chronicles her adventures at an all white school, as well as her marriage to a black man, although she is "white". Her journey is intriguing. The film itself makes you question the race-labeling system.It is a great film that will raise questions and spark intriguing debates on what it means to be black.

Anthony Fabian's 'Skin'is a powerful drama of South Africa's shameful history of white colonial Apartheit rule,that was thankfully overthrown. The story starts in 1965 when a young ten year old girl, Sandra has been thrown out of school for being black,despite the fact that she is of white,European parents. Her father,Abraham (played by screen veteran,Sam Neill)fights to get her back in school,by challenging the South African courts to insist that she's white). When he is unsuccessful,the family resigns to the fact that their daughter has to deal with the burden that she will be treated badly,because she is regarded as black. As the years go by,Sandra (now played as an adult by Sophie Okonedo,who absolutely shone in 'Hotel Rwanda')has grown into a beautiful woman,who is desired by one of the black locals, which disturbs Abe much (Abe is as much a vile racist as the rest of the population of the town). The rest of the film spans over a twenty plus year time frame that tells much of South Africa's social history,set against Sandra's tempestuous own personal history. The cast is rounded out by Alice Krige (as Sandra's long suffering mother,Sannie),Tony Kgorogue,as Sandra's lover & father of her children, who turns out to be hot tempered & abusive toward Sandra, as well as a cast of South African actors that turn in shining performances. The screenplay (written by Helen Crawley,Jessie Keyl & Helena Kriel) makes the most out of what was easily a dark period in South Africa's social history (and what some,even to this day,would love nothing better than to do but bring back). Rated PG-13 by the MPAA,this film contains some strong language,brief nudity & sexuality,and some truly disturbing images of racist fueled violence.