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The Stand-In

Name: The Stand-In
Director: Rä di Martino
Released: 2017
Duration: 75 min

Representation Score

7.9/10

Good

2017

Director

Rä di Martino

Runtime

75 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Stand-In presents a surreal, meta-narrative look at identity through the lens of a film crew in Marrakesh. Its strength lies in its ability to break down traditional cinematic hierarchies and move beyond Western-centric visuals by using North African landscapes. However, the film remains somewhat abstract in its representation. While it intellectually challenges systemic structures and the stability of roles, it lacks explicit, actively leading depictions of underrepresented groups, particularly regarding disability and specific queer identities. Ultimately, the film serves as a niche, postmodern study of the fringes of the industry. It succeeds as a critique of the artifice of media production but falls short in providing concrete, character-driven representation for a higher diversity score.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Stand-In have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film examines the idea that identity can be flexible and performed. Although it doesn't show specific LGBTQ characters, its focus on identity struggles hints at a willingness to explore non-traditional ideas about identity.

How does The Stand-In portray gender?

Fair

By highlighting the work of a stand-in instead of typical heroic figures, the film challenges traditional gender roles. It emphasizes existential struggles over stable, traditional roles.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Stand-In?

Good

Setting the film in Marrakesh introduces a significant departure from Western settings. Using North African locations breaks the usual Hollywood production model and shifts the focus away from homogeneous environments.

How does The Stand-In represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques the film industry and capitalist media systems in a postmodern way. It prioritizes individual experiences and systemic instability over traditional institutional hierarchies.

Does The Stand-In include disability representation?

Fair

The film centers on the psychological and existential states of the characters. There are no explicit representations of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

The Marrakesh setting provides a non-Western visual palette that disrupts standard Hollywood production models.
The narrative deconstructs traditional storytelling hierarchies and explores the artifice of the cinematic medium.
The focus on the stand-in's labor subverts conventional gendered leadership clichés and heroic archetypes.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks explicit, actively leading representation for specific underrepresented identities.
There is no visible or invisible representation of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
The absence of clear, on-screen queer characters limits the impact of its thematic exploration of identity.

Official Synopsis

A small film crew is wandering about Marrakesh and the surrounding desert. They are looking for locations for the remake of an American film in which a man swims his way home, passing through the houses and pools that he finds along the route. Corrado is the stand in used to test the shots, locations and the swimming pools in which the lead will be filmed. While we watch his attempts to get into the part, the real actors and a real crew burst onto the scene, on a set in which no one is in the right place. A film with a crisis of identity, in a surreal search for itself.

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