It’s easy to sum up Naima Chebahi’s short film in just a few words – a punk song that ends up being an emotional ballad. When we saw the title we were tricked for a bit into believing it will be a sketch of some new wave punk movement that was to take the streets. Even after going through the first shots, we still expected the violence, the anarchy, and the signature moves of a phenomenon that changed the course of this world at some point. But even after we saw how it ended we weren’t disappointed because it came with a new perspective on an issue that happens more often than we want to see.

​

The two sides of this story are very well written and the transition from one to the other was direct but in a smooth manner. The beginning with the young man shaving his head whilst in the background some punk song was playing turns out to be the superficial approach of this problem, ending with the core of a sentimentally filled ending that is worth thousands of words. We got to enjoy very much the new wave of French cinematography, and French actors, having an unique sense of delivering the right messages and right emotions.

​

The encounter on the street with the two savage and brutal passersby tells us more about the human nature than any film regarding the way humanity is perishing day after day. Even though they didn’t know his story, the people on the street were judging the young man based on his appearance. This is not something entirely new, but it was frustrating to watch, thinking the many times we’ve seen this happen in the past. The ending is poetic and in a total antithesis with the beginning which is really interesting and something new for us. ‘Skinhead’ is the kind of short that prepares you for head banging experience and ends up making your whole soul cry!

​

Written by Vlad A. G