Watch Three New Clips From David Cronenberg's Crimes Of The Future, If You've Got The Stomach
Ahead of the Cannes premiere of David Cronenberg's "Crimes of the Future," three brand-new clips from the upcoming body horror film have been released for your pleasure. The official trailer allowed a glimpse into the world of performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), and the future as a whole, which is extremely psychosexual in a purely Cronenbergian way.
Check out the three clips from "Crimes of the Future" below, the first being a conversation between National Organ Registry agent Timlin (Kristen Stewart) and Tenser, wherein the former attempts to seduce the latter in a rather weird way. The scene seems to be more about the innate need for humans to reach the next stage of evolution, wherein the body is the portal through which artistry can be achieved.
'Surgery is the new sex'
David Cronenberg is a master of carefully constructed interactions that are uncomfortable to watch, as seen in "Videodrome," in which characters interact with one another in unconventional ways while blurring the line between reality and the unconscious. Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen's characters reflect the sense of discomfort, especially in the first clip, where even the premise of seduction is a complex one, similar to the sexuality inherent within the fleshy bioports in Cronenberg's "eXistenZ."
The constant comparisons between "Crimes of the Future" and "Crash" have already set up the former to be a controversial, highly subversive film — something that will hopefully not impact collective audience opinions, as Cronenberg is not the kind of director to inject shock for shock's sake. There's a layered, cerebral philosophy that runs through his films, and "Crimes of the Future" seems to be pushing the limits of what is conceived as art for the sake of human advancement.
The second clip echoes this sentiment, in which we see an excited Timlin walking up to Tenser and his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux), after a show, and this is when she utters the "surgery is the new sex" line. Watch below:
Tenser's declaration of art triumphing once again leads to the final clip, in which he is seen entombed inside some sort of pod. Its designs echo the art of H.R. Giger, who also delved into subversive sexuality and bodily transformation stretched to grotesque extremes. Caprice is about to perform surgery on Tenser, while onlookers view the process like a live art performance. Cathode-ray tube television sets can be seen (evoking the aesthetic of "Videodrome"), and things seem to be on the verge of entering the body horror territory Cronenberg is so well-known for. Check it out:
Here's the official synopsis of the film:
"As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. Accompanied by his partner, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser showcases the metamorphosis of his organs. Meanwhile, a mysterious group tries to use Saul's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution."
"Crimes of the Future" will premiere in Cannes on May 23, 2022. The film opens in theaters on June 3, 2022.