MovieChat Forums > The Reflecting Skin (1990) Discussion > Title?

Title?

posted 19 years ago by diskonaut
7 replies | jump to latest

Ok, this may be one of those questions that's really stupid if you know the answer... I've seen this great, great movie few times, but I can't figure out the meaning of the title. Why is it called "The Reflecting Skin"?

[–] djsmokingjam 19 years ago

It's a reference to the scene where Cameron shows Seth a picture of the Japanese baby whose skin "shined just like a mirror". Aside from that, it isn't really explained. The title was meant to be American Gothic, but had to be changed at the last minute.

[–] diskonaut 19 years ago

Thanks for pointing out that picture!

I recently watched the film again, and noted that the skin of the frog in the beginning is very shiny, and the kids comment that.

[–] serenagiuli 19 years ago

I've watched this movie a lot of times and I love it, also if is really unknown in Italy,in my opinion the title ''reflecting skin'' means the frame of mind of Seth living in that ''desperated ''situation, every bad event in his young life seems don't impress his mind or mood so much, eccept the jelousy and preoccupations he has got for his brother, so he is a ''strong mind'' in his way,a personality that can reflects everything, also thanks to the fake point of view he has got about reality, life and feelings...

[–] bengmason 19 years ago

THE REFLECTING SKIN is a film about the nightmare of childhood. The title is a reference to youth. Youthful skin, which is obviously young and fresh, reflects sunlight. Ageing skin does not. Hence, THE REFLECTING SKIN.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] WarpedRecord 16 years ago

I saw "American Gothic" (from 1987) too, and I agree it was stupid. It starred Rod Steiger and Yvonne De Carlo as an elderly couple on a strange island raising "kids" who are in their 50s. It had the potential to be campy fun, but it just struck me as a good idea in search of a good story.

As for the title "The Reflecting Skin," on a small scale it is a reference to the effects of radiation, but on a larger scale perhaps it signifies how we see ourselves in others -- through their lives and through their deaths. Of course, I suspect the title is intentionally ambiguous. Maybe "The Opaque Skin" would have been a better title.

[–] 16 years ago

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