The Man Who Sold His Skin
Samuel Goldwyn Films | Release Date: April 2, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussApr 8, 2021
The Man Who Sold His Skin may not be entirely believable, but its many great metaphors for multiple social ills create their own, withering truth. The film doesn’t ask us to turn our gaze away from the world’s ugly realities, but to see them in the very handsome images they inspired Ben Hania to make. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 16, 2021
When it’s all over, the viewer gets to wrestle with everything everyone here does — the plight of Syria, the nature of art, “exploitation” and the nature of “freedom.” Not bad for the first Tunisian film much of the world will have ever had the chance to see. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekApr 9, 2021
The Man Who Sold His Skin, from Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, hits some ominous and sinister notes as it tangles with serious political and social issues, among them the plight of refugees, the nature of art and exploitation, and various facets of self-loathing. But it ends on a surprisingly airy note, and that makes all the difference. Read full review
80
VarietyAlissa SimonMar 16, 2021
An audacious but not always palatable mix of drama, tragedy, romance, satire and dark humor. Read full review
80
Screen DailySarah WardMar 16, 2021
It’s the central performance by feature first-timer Mahayni that best demonstrates the picture’s overall charms. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanApr 6, 2021
At times, The Man Who Sold His Skin plays like a cultural parody, but its aim is dead serious, and more sobering. The pathos and tragedy of the global refugee crisis is its target, not the pretensions of the international art market, and it, from time to time, delivers a sting. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriApr 9, 2021
It tackles the refugee crisis, capitalism, political repression, and First World hypocrisy within the context of an art-world satire. It’s sometimes confused in conception, but never confusing. It’s a wild, modern-day fable that is lively and thought-provoking … so long as you don’t actually think too hard about it. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijMar 16, 2021
Though the final product isn’t quite a home run, it is nonetheless a very intriguing work that again suggests Ben Hania is a talent to watch. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleJenny NulfApr 7, 2021
Tunisia’s first Oscar-nominated film, The Man Who Sold His Skin, is an emulsion of ideas, each as ambitiously thought-provoking as the next. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comTomris LafflyApr 2, 2021
While it hardly breaks new ground, The Man Who Sold His Skin still manages to be a breezy watch, with an assured filmmaker gently steering it through a rough-around-the-edges tale. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDerek SmithMar 30, 2021
Art, commerce, and immigration are inextricably bound in Kaouther Ben Hania’s playful and gently moving, if uneven, film. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeOct 15, 2021
Provocative and challenging, if not the most subtle piece of political commentary, the film certainly cements Kaouther Ben Hania as a name to watch in Arab cinema. Read full review
60
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldApr 1, 2021
The lustrously shot movie breaks Sam out of the gallery grind through Hollywood-grade somersaults in storytelling (one of them so breezily violent as to feel a little tasteless) Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleApr 8, 2021
Between the forced artistry and the confused tones, it leaves this well-intentioned tale of transgressive imagination and transactional humanity more temporary in its effect than permanent. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 8, 2021
The more bizarre The Man Who Sold His Skin becomes, the less original it gets. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 15, 2021
The supposedly important themes of immigrants and Syria are cancelled by its naive flippancy. Read full review
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