Mysterious Skin

Two boys. One can't remember. The other can't forget.

Mysterious Skin does an excellent job of capturing the aberrational psyches of the pedophile and his victims,

two of which are depicted here: the overtly hurt youngster whose encounters and "five-dollar games" with his Little League coach turn him into a street hustler who eventually ends up in New York City, and the boy whose hurt makes him an introvert who's convinced those episodes he's all but blocked out are invasions of body snatchers that he's the victim of alien abductions and experimentations.

Child molestation themes almost guarantee warfare with the ratings board and theater chains. Kudos to director Gregg Araki for taking a taboo subject and refusing to censor the film after the MPAA slammed it with an NC-17. Araki has the guts to push the envelope even further than other films involving pedophilia, like L.I.E. and Happiness, while still maintaining a tasteful, artistic adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel.

Although disturbing, surprisingly, Mysterious Skin isn’t gritty or unpleasant. The film contains strong sexuality (what did you expect from a film about pedophilia and hustlers?), but none of it is gratuitous.

The film journeys into a world that only the bravest of filmmakers dare to explore. This alone makes the film worth seeing.

This is easily the best, most accomplished film Araki has done to date.

Compelling, impressively acted

A film that turns moving and horrifying –

Mysterious Skin makes Midnight Cowboy look tame in comparison.

It's not enough to call Mysterious Skin one of the best films of the year. It is one of the best gay-themed movies ever made.

A warped, but beautiful and strangely hopeful, coming-of-age tale about two young men struggling to overcome childhood scars.