On My Skin (2018)

Since truth is stranger than fiction, there are many movies based on real life accounts. This is especially the case regarding true crime stories — from Dog Day Afternoon (1975) to The Irishman (2019), both starring Al Pacino. Of course, we can’t forget Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Bugsy (1991); Ray Liotta in Goodfellas (1990); and Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), just to name a few. But unlike these biopics which focus on the criminals breaking the law, On My Skin (2018) explores the misdeeds of the cops. Also known as Sulla mia pelle, the Italian drama deals with a fatal incident of police brutality. Under the direction of Alessio Cremonini (who co-wrote the screenplay with Lisa Nur Sultan), the Netflix release addresses what happened to Stefano Cucchi (Alessandro Borghi). In 2009, the young man was arrested for a petty crime before mysteriously dying in jail during his detention. As you can guess, this tragic discovery devastated his mother (Milvia Marigliano), father (Max Tortora) and sister (Jasmine Trinca). More disturbing is the fact that Mr. Cucchi was the 148th person to die in prison that year. As such, his parents created a non-profit organization in their son’s name to help defend the human rights of others. Another silver lining to this tale is seeing Mr. Borghi’s tail during a strip-down that includes views of his abs, shaft and backsack. Il lato positivo!