In A Skin So Soft, Denis Côté explores the body: the one we shape and sculpt to present to the outside world, the one we offer up for others’ eyes. By following strongmen even in their most raw and intimate moments, he creates a sweeping ode to their muscle-bound and outsized bodies. Through his refined observations, with all their sensuality and moments of humour, a surprising sensitivity is revealed. They stand before us, offering themselves up to a patient and static camera, far from the brutish stereotypes that their colossal bodies may lead one to imagine. Their constant, meticulous and painful work of transformation takes form and action in each gesture, each pained expression and each daily sacrifice. In this way, beauty arises in surprising ways. It’s not in their forced smiles, in their gleaming curves or in skin stretched to the limits of its tautness, but in moments when they are gathered together in an Edenlike natural setting, fragile yet powerful demigods, clothed only in their skin. While their dreams of stepping up to the podium to receive the fruits of their superhuman labour sometimes seem unattainable, it would appear that this grueling effort could simply be an excuse to care for oneself and for others. With A Skin So Soft, Denis Côté offers us a generous work filled with respect and tenderness for the giants who walk among us and have fascinated us since the dawn of time.

Nadine Gomez
Filmmaker