Almodóvar brings a hypnotic quality to this exquisitely choreographed and compelling tale of surgical obsession Pedro Almodóvar’s macabre suspense thriller is about an obsession that, though not exactly magnificent, has a fanatical intensity. Antonio Banderas plays a Madrid plastic surgeon, wealthy, cultured and respected; he gives brilliant lectures and research papers on advances in face-transplant surgery. Daringly, heretically, he advocates transgenic treatments from animals to toughen the skin. In his palatial home, he has a private operating theatre where he carries out experimental work on Vera, a beautiful woman he keeps prisoner, who is dressed only in a clinging gauzy, flesh-toned material and whose skin has an unnaturally smooth, flawless look. She appears to submit ecstatically to her imprisonment, but this is finally to be the cause of madness and violence. The Skin I Live In is adapted from the 2003 novel Mygale (Tarantula) by Thierry Jonquet, but clearly Almodóvar has taken something from Georges Franju’s 1960 film Eyes Without a Face and possibly also Alejandro Amenábar’s Open Your Eyes from 1997. It is also conceivable that he wants us to think of Evelyn Waugh’s story Love Among the Ruins. But influences and allusions are almost beside the point, given the fact that almost every scene, every shot, must remind you of every other Almodóvar picture. As ever, it is sleek and stylishly furnished, sensually charged with richness and colour, and splashes and gashes of red. There is a surging Hitchcockian orchestral score and a breathless sense of imminent violence: handguns are coolly disclosed in desk-drawers and expensive ladies’ handbags; crime scenes are established in stunning overhead shots. As in many of his films, family secrets are revealed through lengthy flashbacks – something forbidden to contemporary Hollywood screenwriters. There is the doppelganger motif, and the younger guy who likes partying and drugs; there are staircase scenes and scenes in which a middle-aged man watches the object of his desire, enraptured, on a large screen. And perhaps most startling, and most characteristic of all, there is Almodóvar’s great theme of transsexual identity, which speaks of passion, fantasy and escape. The director himself, in various masks and guises, is present in all of this. For those who would like Almodóvar to do something radical – and this was rather how this movie had been misleadingly billed here in Cannes – then The Skin I Live In might try the patience. But I can only say that it kept me gripped from first to last. The sheer muscular confidence of Almodóvar’s film-making language gives it force, and co-exists with a dancer’s elegance and grace. Without this, the story could look strained and farcical. Instead, its bizarre passions are compelling. Almodóvar brings something hypnotic to the surgery-porn aesthetic of his operating theatre of cruelty: the latex, the scrubs, the cold steel, the exquisite yet appalling contrast between wounds and young flesh. It is twisted and mad, and its choreography and self-possession are superb. Rating: 4/5 Cannes 2011 Pedro Almodóvar Cannes film festival Peter Bradshaw guardian.co.uk
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Nine out of 10 report bullying taking place at school in the past year, with boys aged 10 to 12 the most likely victims More than 20% of children aged 10 to 15 have been frightened or upset by bullying in the past year, according to the first British Crime Survey report on their attitude to the police and personal safety. The BCS report shows that boys aged 10 to 12 are the most likely to have experienced bullying. Overall, nine out of 10 children reported some bullying incidents at school. The confirmation of the extent of bullying in England and Wales is underlined by the fact one in four victims – 6% of children aged 10 to 15 – reported unwanted and nasty emails or texts, or abusive postings on a website. Girls were more likely than boys to have been the victims of cyber-bullying. The BCS also estimates that 1% of children aged 13 to 15 had carried a knife for self-protection in the past year, with 13% saying they knew someone who had done so. But 69% of those aged 13 to 15 agreed that carrying a knife made it more likely that they would get stabbed themselves. Only 17% disagreed. The survey also shows that far from being a generation who see themselves as having been treated as criminals, more than 87% believed the police would help them if they needed them. Nearly half of all children said they knew a local police officer, but this is mainly the product of an intensive programme school visits by the police in recent years. Only 9% of those children in contact with the police because of problems such as truanting, suspensions or drunken behaviour, said they had a less favourable opinion of them. The survey also clarifies some adult assumptions about the lives of teenagers. More than 80% of 10- to 15-year-olds said they hung around with their friends in public spaces. But only one in five said they had been moved on, and that was most likely to have been by a member of the public. The report also shows that 21% of girls but only 9% of boys who used public transport in the past year had avoided travelling on buses at certain times because they were worried about their own safety or because other people were causing trouble. Bullying Children Schools Crime Alan Travis guardian.co.uk
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‘Taxi’ star Jeff Conaway in a coma; Media chase the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s child; Princess Beatrice’s wedding hat auctioned on eBay. (May 19)
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Munich Re insurance giant admits ‘incentive trip’ to Budapest’s Gellert Baths was a sex junket A German insurance firm has admitted rewarding its 100 best salesmen with a prostitute-filled “sex party” in Budapest’s most famous thermal baths. Hamburg-Mannheimer International (HMI), now part of the huge Munich Re insurance conglomerate, rented out the historic Gellert Baths in the Hungarian capital and turned it into an “open-air brothel”, where it let staff run riot. At least 20 prostitutes were hired by HMI top brass for the so-called “incentive trip”. According to those present, the women were colour-coded to indicate which men were allowed to have sex with them. Those wearing white ribbons were reserved for “the very best salespeople and executives”, said one HMI employee. After an investigation printed in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Munich Re has admitted that the party – described in one German magazine as “Bunga-Bunga in Budapest” – did occur. “It is true that in June 2007 an incentive trip took place in Budapest. Our research has discovered that during an evening event during this trip, around 20 prostitutes were present,” said a spokesman for Ergo, a life insurance arm of Munich Re that took over HMI some time after the party took place. The Handelsblatt newspaper has gathered sworn statements from a number of HMI employees who attended the party. “At the entrance, I and other participants were searched, like at security controls at an airport,” said one witness. The HMI boss told everyone it was “strictly forbidden” to take photos or video the event, he added. According to a signed affidavit from another employee: “The ladies came up to us and showed us what they had. It was clear to everyone there that they were hookers.” “The women wore red and yellow ribbons,” one guest told Handelsblatt. “Some were there just as hostesses; the others made clear with the colour of their ribbon that they weren’t just there to chat.” Then there were women wearing white ribbons. They, allegedly, were reserved for the “best of the best” in the company. Another guest said that beds had been set up around the baths where the salesmen could “do what they wanted”. The women, he claimed, were then given an ink stamp on their forearms to show how popular they had been: some of the women ended up with more than a dozen stamps, it is alleged. Astonishingly, the debauched trip was written up in the company newsletter, Profil, back in 2007. “There were things you couldn’t believe,” said the Profil report, according to Handelsblatt. “Or there were things that were so freaky, so unbelievable and indescribable that they shouldn’t be allowed.” The incident was a “clear violation” of company policy, said Alexander Becker, a spokesman for the Ergo Versicherungsgruppe subsidiary. Those responsible for organising the event are no longer employed at Ergo, he said. Munich Re, the world’s biggest reinsurer, fully owns Düsseldorf-based Ergo, Germany’s second-biggest primary insurer after Allianz SE. The Budapest party was hosted by an Ergo unit, then known as Hamburg-Mannheimer Versicherungs-AG. Germany Hungary Insurance industry Europe Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
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President so isolated by supreme leader that completion of second term is in doubt Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has suffered a series of dramatic setbacks in his power struggle with the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, after a failed bid to challenge the clerical establishment, according to Iranian observers and diplomats. Ahmadinejad, who drew on crucial backing from Khamenei during his disputed re-election in 2009, has been so roundly rebuffed by his erstwhile patron that it is by no means certain he will complete his second term as president. In recent days, Ahmadinejad and the men described as his strongest allies, his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, and executive deputy, Hamid Baghaei, have come under direct attack from senior figures in the powerful Revolutionary Guards and some of most important clerics in the Islamic regime. Ahmadinejad’s many enemies across the political and religious spectrum have scented blood after the arrest of at least 25 people close to him and Mashaei. The president’s immediate entourage has been reduced to a handful of serious people and has faced accusations of corruption, revolutionary “deviancy” and even espionage. Even the president’s spiritual mentor, Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, who strongly supported him in the 2009 presidential election, is distancing himself. In a recent interview with an Iranian publication, Yazdi said: “That a human being would behave in a way that angers his closest friends and allies and turns them into opponents is not logical for any politician.” . He told Shoma Weekly that he believed “with more than 90% certainty” that Ahmadinejad had been bewitched”. “We saw that this questionable person [Mashaei] has conquered this gentleman [Ahmadinejad] and is in his fist,” he said. Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, a close ally of Khamenei and head of the Guardian Council, has also attacked Ahmadinejad directly. “We did not expect this from him,” Janati said. In a reference to Mashaei, he said that “some people seek to cause a deviation, and act against the country and the supreme leader”. Yazdi and Janati’s comments have been repeatedly echoed by senior officials in the Islamic Republic in recent days. “It is like wolves who have been waiting for a sign of weakness and they are now lunging in,” said Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-Israeli Middle East analyst and co-author of book on Ahmadinejad, The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran. In the latest sign of his dwindling authority, Ahmadinejad’s bid to streamline his cabinet and merge eight ministries into four was blocked by the supreme leader in a private meeting attended by the parliamentary chief, Ali Larijani. Unable to proceed with his initial plan, Ahmadinejad fought back by dismissing three ministers and temporarily taking over the oil ministry but drew unprecedented criticism from Khamenei’s camp. It has not helped the president that the attacks come at a time when the cash-strapped government, straining under international sanctions, has gambled on removing long-standing but costly subsidies on fuel, food and other daily essentials, triggering widespread popular resentment. With zero growth projected for this year, organised labour is beginning to flex its muscles. Last week, some union members refused to go to work, in protest at delayed salaries and rising unemployment. They blamed Ahmadinejad for the crisis. Ahmadinejad emerged from relative obscurity to win the presidency in 2005, not least because the supreme leader adopted him as his protege. In recent months, he has sought to assert the presidential prerogative in hiring and firing ministers. He got his way in December, sacking the foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, a Khamenei favourite, without warning. When he tried to do the same thing in April to the intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, Khamenei struck back and ordered Moslehi’s reinstatement. In response Ahmadinejad took the quixotic decision of boycotting his own job and disappeared from office for 11 days. Ultimately, however, he had little choice but to return and grudgingly put up with Moslehi. “Ahmadinejad must know he was always pushing his luck. He has always been a risk-taker, and he always knew that sooner or later he would hit something hard,” said a western diplomat. “Whether this is terminal for him, it’s a bit early to say, but the defence of the supreme leader and the attack on Ahmadinejad has had the look of a whole government acting in concert. People were sent out to the regions, including the IRGC [the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], to send the message that the supreme leader is in control.” Ahmadinejad, whose presidency is limited to two terms under Iranian law, must step down in 2013. The depth of rift with the supreme leader has raised speculation that he might leave early, triggering a political crisis. Some are comparing him to Abdulhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first post-revolutionary president, who was impeached in 1981 after clashing with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and forced to flee the country. Speaking from Paris, Banisadr said: “Khamenei is so fed up with Ahmadinejad that [the president] might not even survive before his term finishes.” Conversely, Ahmadinejad could resign. But to do so before securing the position of a chosen successor would leave him little protection once out of office. For Khamenei, the worry is whether the Islamic republic can survive him in its present form. “There’s always the issue of Khamenei’s death and what happens then,” said Hamid Dabashi, a professor of Iranian studies at Columbia University. “Ahmadinejad and his people have an eye on the days after Khamenei’s death from now and are seeking to make the position of the next supreme leader as rather symbolic.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Iran Middle East Saeed Kamali Dehghan Julian Borger guardian.co.uk
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Lord Stoneham uses parliamentary privilege to discuss former Royal Bank of Scotland chief’s gagging order Sir Fred Goodwin, the controversial former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, obtained a superinjunction to prevent details of his alleged extra-marital affair with a senior colleague being made public, it was claimed in the House of Lords on Thursday. The wide-ranging gagging order – which prevented Goodwin from being identified as a banker – was brought up by Lord Stoneham, a Liberal Democrat peer, during a debate in the Lords. Stoneham’s comments are protected by parliamentary privilege. Goodwin’s superinjunction was first made public during a House of Commons debate in March . However, there have been no claims about the subject matter of the injunction until now. Stoneham, speaking on behalf of fellow Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott, said during the debate: “Would [the speaker] accept that every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland? “So how can it be right for a superinjunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague? If true it would be a serious breach of corporate governance and not even the Financial Services Authority would know about it.” More details soon… •
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Huhne, who faces allegations that he tried to evade speeding points, backed by fellow Lib Dem minister Vince Cable has warned that it would be a loss to the coalition if fellow Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne was forced to quit the cabinet as a result of allegations that he tried to evade punishment for speeding. Huhne, the energy secretary and MP for Eastleigh, has contacted police to offer assistance with their investigation into whether he passed points incurred for speeding on the M11 south of Stansted airport on to another witness, thought to be his now estranged wife, Vicky Pryce. A spokeswoman for Huhne said he contacted Essex police regarding the incident which is supposed to have occurred in 2003 when he was an MEP. Cable, the business secretary gave his backing to his fellow Lib Dem minister, whom he described as a “very effective colleague”. He told the BBC Radio 4′s Today programme: “It would be a loss if he went. But he is not talking about going. He’s a good effective colleague. I’ve been working very intensely with him over the last few weeks on delivering the green agenda – we’ve come to a good outcome.” Essex police have yet to take a decision on whether to open a formal criminal inquiry into the allegations. Detective Superintendent Tim Wills said on Wednesday that his team would be speaking to “key individuals”. Detectives are expected to interview both Huhne and Pryce. Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence party and an MEP for the past 12 years, was interviewed by police on Wednesday evening. He told officers he took a flight from Strasbourg to Stansted on 12 March 2003, the night the speeding offence is said to have occurred. A spokesman for Farage said the MEP was asked about how frequently the evening flight, believed to be Ryanair flight 7775, was used by British MEPs travelling back from Strasbourg. Earlier this week, Huhne said the allegations levelled against him wereincorrect and welcomed the police investigation triggered by a formal complaint lodged by the Labour MP Simon Danczuk. Huhne was said to have been facing a driving ban if he clocked up more points for speeding. That would have made it difficult for him to get around at a time when he was hoping to become an MP. Chris Huhne Liberal-Conservative coalition Vince Cable Hélène Mulholland guardian.co.uk
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Pair attacked by masked gang on isolated beach of Caribbean island where they were doing volunteer work Six men have been charged with the rape of two British women on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, officials said. The victims, aged 24 and 31, were attacked by a gang of masked men on an isolated stretch of Grande Anse beach, in the north-east of the country, on 10 May. They were volunteering on a wildlife conservation project run by a British-based charity and St Lucia’s ministry of agriculture when the late-night incident occurred. The suspects, who are locals but yet to be named, are due in court later this month, police said in a statement. The St Lucia government has launched an investigation to determine how they came to be alone on the isolated beach at midnight, a ministry official said. The British high commissioner, Karl Burrows, described the attack as “a dreadful crime”. He advised British visitors to exercise caution as they would anywhere else, saying that crimes against British tourists were not widespread on the island. Around 67,000 British nationals visited St Lucia last year. Foreign Office travel advice states that most visits are trouble-free but warns that there are incidents of violent crime, including murder, which tend to occur within the local community but can sometimes affect tourists. St Lucia Rape guardian.co.uk
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Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams says he believes monarch’s sympathy for those who have suffered in troubled past is genuine Gerry Adams has united with David Cameron to praise the Queen’s historic address at Dublin Castle. Reacting to the Queen’s only speech during her four-day visit to the Republic, the Sinn Féin president said: “I believe that her expression of sincere sympathy for those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past is genuine.” The prime minister also praised the tone of the Queen’s speech, adding: “I think this visit will set the seal on what is already a very strong relationship between our two countries, but a relationship I believe that can get even stronger still.” All of Thursday’s Irish newspapers were full of praise for the nature of the address in St Patrick’s Hall on Wednesday night in front of a host of dignitaries, including the prime minister David Cameron, Peter Robinson, the Northern Ireland first minister, Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, Irish rugby star Brian O’Driscoll and various former Irish prime ministers. Speaking before the Queen, the Irish president, Mary McAleese, said the royal state visit was the culmination of the success of the peace process and an acknowledgement that while the past cannot be changed, there has been a decision made to change the future. The Queen received rapturous applause and a standing ovation and ended her speech with a toast to the president and people of Ireland. The Queen was expected to visit the Irish National Stud on Thursday in Kildare. There she will meet students of the racing academy and those who trained winners from this year’s Cheltenham festival. The British ambassador to Dublin will host a return event, celebrating the visit at the Convention Centre in Dublin A fashion show featuring Irish and British designers will precede a concert from Westlife and X-Factor contestant Mary Byrne. The Queen Ireland Monarchy Gerry Adams Europe Northern Ireland Iris Robinson Peter Robinson Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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The Bank of Japan (BoJ) expects the economy to resume growing in the second half of the year Japan’s economy shrank much more than expected in the first quarter and slipped into recession after the triple blow of the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis hit business and consumer spending and tore apart supply chains. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) expects the economy to resume growing in the second half of the year, but some economists say the surprisingly grim gross domestic product figures in the first quarter increase the risk that the pace of recovery will be slower than anticipated. Manufacturers are moving to repair supply chains, but fears of power shortages in the summer and an ongoing nuclear crisis also pose risks, economists say. The negative surprise came as inventories fell and imports jumped following losses in factory output. Still, economists expect the BoJ to keep monetary policy steady when it ends a two-day meeting on Friday while declaring readiness to ease further if the quake’s impact proves more lasting that thought. Gross domestic product fell 0.9% in January-March, nearly double the 0.5% forecast by analysts, translating into an annualised 3.7% decline compared with a 2.0 % forecast, government data showed on Thursday. The economy shrank a revised 0.8% in the fourth quarter of last year, so a second consecutive quarter of contraction puts Japan in recession. Analysts also project the economy will shrink again in April-July as supply bottlenecks triggered by the March catastrophe continue to weigh on output and exports. Most economists still see growth resuming in the second half of the year as supplies are gradually restored and reconstruction spending is expected to kick in, though there are still risks to such a scenario, including the possible power shortages. Economics minister Kaoru Yosano sought to reinforce that view, saying the economy was going through a temporary rough patch. “The economy has the strength to bounce back,” Yosano told a news conference after the data release, saying the economy should grow nearly 1% in the current fiscal year to March 2012. Yosano also sided with the central bank, which said it had done enough to support the economy when it eased policy just days after the quake, doubled its asset-buying scheme and pumped record amounts of cash into the banking system. “The Bank of Japan is taking utmost measures allowed under the BOJ law. I have nothing to request from them,” Yosano said. He stressed that in contrast with the deep and severe recession during the global financial crisis, the post-quake slump in output was caused by supply concerns and there was still demand for Japanese goods and services. Currency and government bond markets showed little reaction to Thursday’s data as the negative surprise did not shift investors’ expectations. Economists said, however, that the data highlighted how difficult will it be for the world’s third-largest economy to recover from a tsunami so powerful that it turned entire villages into piles of tinder and left large fishing vessels strewn atop buildings like children’s toys. The 0.9 % contraction in the first quarter of this year was the largest since a record 4.9 % plunge in the first quarter of 2009 as the financial crisis raged. It will be a challenge for the economy to return to where it was before the natural disaster, with many economists predicting only a sluggish and gradual recovery later this year. “The effect of the disaster was very significant and it will take a long time to get back to previous levels,” said Yoshikiyo Shimamine, chief economist at Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute. Shimamine said growth should resume in July-September, but there was a risk any recovery could come even later, though there was no need for further monetary easing. “The BoJ has done what it needs to do in terms of emergency action, so I don’t think these figures will prompt any further action.” Some economists said, however, the initial damage to the economy was so severe that it might still need extra help. “The size of the downturn highlights the need for much more fiscal and monetary support than has been forthcoming,” said George Worthington, chief Asia-Pacific economist with IFR Markets in Sydney. Inventories shaved 0.5 percentage points from GDP, the largest negative contribution since the second quarter of last year. Net exports shaved 0.2 percentage points off GDP, the biggest negative contribution since January-March 2009 and more than the median estimate that it would trim 0.1 percentage point off growth. Private consumption, which accounts for about 60% of the economy, was down 0.6% against a median forecast of a 0.5% decline, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline. Corporate capital spending fell 0.9% against a market forecast of a 1.2% decline. Industrial output fell 15.5% in March, revised down from a preliminary 15.3% decline, separate data showed. The annual GDP deflator was minus 1.9% in the first quarter, larger than minus 1.6% for the fourth quarter, suggesting the incredible loss of output was not enough to narrow the gap between supply and demand. Looking beyond the first quarter, recent data supports the central bank’s base scenario of a gradual recovery. Businesses polled by Reuters in May were markedly less pessimistic than in April, when sentiment plunged after the quake, while official data showed earlier this week manufacturers expecting more orders to keep coming in after a surprising rise in March. Carmakers, among the hardest-hit by the disaster because of their reliance on elaborate supplier networks, are making progress in restoring production. Honda Motor said this week the recovery in parts supplies was speeding up, while Nissan said it was aiming to bring production back to pre-quake levels ahead of its October target. Japan Japan disaster Global economy Economics guardian.co.uk
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