In My Mother's Skin

Flies buzzing, flesh tearing, laboured breathing. The gruesome opening sounds of a body being torn apart immediately draw you into the nightmarish world of In My Mother’s Skin, the beguiling second feature from Filipino writer-filmmaker Kenneth Dagatan.

Set in the Philippines in the final months of World War II, we follow Tala, the young daughter of a merchant suspected of stealing gold from the occupying Japanese soldiers. Fearing for his family’s safety should the gold be found, the father leaves to seek help and strands Tala, her younger brother, and their sickly mother to fend for themselves in their isolated mansion. As they wait with growing despair for the patriarch’s return, the mother’s condition rapidly deteriorates, leading Tala to accept the aid of a carnivorous fairy whose offering leads to unexpected and insatiable carnage.

Dagatan delivers an atmospheric and profoundly unnerving fairy tale, replete with allusions to Filipino folklore and Catholicism, to express the festering effects of war: both the physical gore and the psychological dread of waiting for it all to end. Featuring entrancing performances from Felicity Kyle Napuli as Tala and Beauty Gonzalez as the helplessly ailing mother, alongside fantastical cinematography of misty forests, gleaming altars, and overgrown cottages, In My Mother’s Skin is a brutal examination of humanity and purity – and the price of protecting a loved one.

– Sophie Tupholme