Who payed the critics

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This surprisingly low-key documentary is interesting as it clarifies the differences between three basic types of baldies: racist, anti-racist, and just plain ol' apolitical skins. Although, to be fair, the one thing they all do have in common - apart from their mysterious hatred of hair - is that they're all rather daft. Perhaps the Nazi skins are somewhat dumber than the rest, but those anti-globalism SHARP skins aren't exactly sharp either. The other positive aspect of SA (Oi! Hang On! "SA"??!) is the high entertainment level that watching a bunch of deluded morons behave and talk like Neanderthals brings.What are skinheads? Generally speaking, skins are a bunch of insecure, inferiority-complex misfits with debilitating amounts of brain damage - which is usually inborn, i.e. hereditary. They're extremely afraid of life, they suffer from constant anxiety, their self-esteem is very low or non-existent, i.e. they are mentally weak losers, hence aren't fit for the tough competition that's out there, waiting for them in the real world - a world which they naturally start despising early on in their lives simply because they can't be a part of it (or so they believe).So, burdened with all these mental problems, utter desperation, and a sense of total hopelessness, they seek solace, warmth, coziness in an underground movement that is just as anti-individualistic, as much a slave to fashion and limiting rules as any other "pop army" (Mods, rude boys, punks, hippies, Emos... low IQs, the lot of them). Once they've joined other baldies, it gives them a sudden injection of self-respect. In this new little skinhead world that they join, they find themselves a Utopia of sorts: there are no more pressures, there is no rat-race, there is no ambition, and most importantly: no expectations whatsoever. No one there expects them to have or make money, to be smart, or to be good-looking.In fact, the reason why they wear awful hair (or no hair) and dress as badly as they can is their way of saying "we're ugly and we're proud of it". Of course they're not actually happy about being ugly, but when surrounded by like-minded misfits they feel as if their deficiencies no longer matter and are even a point of pride. Naturally, in order to support and justify this fantasy-world life-style to THEMSELVES for years on, they are forced to be in heavy denial all the time. Hence when a girl skin (in SA) says that "I don't want a swimming pool, a house, or a car" that statement is just about as convincing as a life-sentence-serving prison inmate saying he doesn't regret what he had done. Of course that poor girl wants all those luxuries... After all, she's a woman, isn't she? Speaking of skinhead girls, I've hardly ever seen hair that ugly! The female skinhead hair-do is simply appalling: their heads look like large, over-fed Emo hamsters. I don't want to insult hamsters, though. I hereby apologize to any hamsters that might be reading this text...Most male skinheads are weaklings who try to escape harsh reality by living out their immature macho fantasies (much like kids do through Superman, Batman and 50 Cent) through an image that allegedly represents toughness. However, how tough is it to gang up with your bald friends on one person? That is how they usually operate i.e. like typical wimpy cowards. (In that sense, they remind me of those hardcore guys in "Boston Beatdown": they too like those "brave" 10-on-1 situations. "Hey, he's on the ground, and he's alone! Let's kick him in the head!") Naturally, not all skinheads are weaklings. Some join the movement because they are psychopaths who find a perfect environment in which to practice their aggression and sadism.The reason most skinheads are either on the Extreme Left or the Extreme Right is rather obvious; political extremes always attract two basic categories: those who feel totally left out i.e. people with mental diseases, and the uneducated, easy-to-fool working class.Which brings me to "White Power". Actually, I like to call them "Whine Power" because they only seem to have the ability to whine/bitch/moan/complain about how unjust their DEMOCRATIC societies are. These spoilt blue-collar kids should move to Zambia and see what living a hard existence is really about... (A little question to Karl Marx: is THIS the proletariat you envisioned - in your deluded day-dreams - to start a revolution and take power?) And you don't get any more spoilt than Swedish Nazi skins, who feature in the second half of SA. Here's a country that guarantees even the most hopeless of losers a monthly unemployment check, health care, and just about everything else. And yet, we have a bunch of malcontents complaining about Jews screwing them over. Jews?? Didn't the Swedes get rid of them with the help of Hitler 60 years ago? An EU study placed Sweden at the top of "The Most Racist EU nation" table. A fact that is hardly surprising to anyone familiar with Sweden's extremely high levels of intolerance...The Nazi skins music is so primitive, so Cro-Magnon, that it makes the most extreme black metal sound like Debussy. The Sex Pistols sound like Dream Theater compared to these guys.One amusing paradox that Nazi skinhead "thought" offers in SA is this weird, illogical tendency for them to band together, with Nazi skins from different countries joining up. Ever heard of an oxymoron called "international nationalism"? Well, check it out and laugh...After all is said and done, skins DO serve a purpose: to amuse us. Every society needs their unintentional clowns. Traditional circuses have all but disappeared, so it's nice to have some sort of plan B replacement. Oi, oi, oi!

This is a very good film,well documentary,a skinhead-girl travels Europe etc to search out the truth about the skinhead cult.it tells you about the good and bad sides that engulf the skinhead way including the Nazi and sharp skins.very good and great interviews with Roddy Moreno from the oppressed.I agree with the other comments though,the so called American skinheads aren't actually skinheads at all,they are just racist trailer trash,there not smart enough clothes wise or brain wise to be skinheads,the film is very good though all the same.i enjoyed it a lot.if you enjoyed this film my website has everything about the skinhead cult from the very early Jamaican roots to present day and thousands of pictures as well.even interviews with Roddy and more here at www.skinheadawayoflife.com

It amazes me how people go on and on about the racism involved within the skinhead scene and how it does not exist. To say Nazi skinheads do not exist and the next sentence defend left and gay skins is a contradiction in terms. Nazi skinheads like left skinheads are political and both simply use the skinhead name to attract new members usually brain dead people who are rejected from traditional skinhead crews. As for gay skinheads not once in my 25 years as a skinhead have I came across an OI, Ska, Left or right crew that accepts Gay members. There is no such thing as a gay skinhead and there never will be. like it or not skinheads have been into violence and racism since day one in the 60s. The West Indians and English kids would often participate in Paki bashing. This film shows the real facts and is 100% without bias. The majority of skinheads like me hate politics, enjoy music, drinking, football and hanging with our mates. If provoked will not walk away! We are simply working class from all backgrounds. Great movie!

This documentary gives a very good insight into the different fractions of the Skinhead-Subculture. The main protagonist is a traditional skaconsuming Skinheadgirl, who travels from place to place around Europe to America to highlight different sides of the movement. Beginning with the birth in the late sixties, the film then concentrates on the political aspect of the whole thing. Which sadly makes it rather repetitive in the end.Since the consumer made up his mind about the political stance long before entering the cinema, there are no fresh notions to be learned in the right/left-discussion at all. The script shifts from an engaging portrait to an excessive tally sheet-like approach.After reaching a controversial peak with the introduction of Combat 18, the film fails to enthrall again and thus the tragic segment about a homicide in Nevada, in itself an entire movie, never really unfolds.It was a bold move to try to outline this contradictionary culture in such a short time, but for a filmviewer, who has no clue about the Skins in general, this is a pretty good initiation.