I think Mysterious Skin was a really well done and powerful film, but it was also difficult to watch. It follows two boys, Neil and Brian, through childhood into adulthood after experiencing childhood sexual assault. I wonder what the intended audience for this film would be. Maybe to bring awareness and shed light on childhood sexual assault and impact of the trauma from it.
I thought it was interesting to see how different Neil and Brian dealt with their trauma. While Neil vividly remembers the experience, Brian can’t quite remember and becomes obsessed with UFOs. It illustrates the fact that everyone deals with trauma differently.
In an extremely emotional ending, Neil fills Brian in on everything he can’t remember, destroying Brian’s UFO constructed reality. Neil narrates, “I wanted to tell Brian it was over now, and everything would be okay. But that was lie”. It’s beautiful and heart wrenching all at once.
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