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Crimes of the Future is a 2022 science fiction body horror drama film written and directed by David Cronenberg. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart. It follows a performance artist duo (Mortensen and Seydoux) who perform surgery for audiences in a future where human evolution has accelerated for much of the population. Although the film shares its title with Cronenberg's 1970 film of the same name, it is not a remake, as the story and concept are unrelated. The film marked Cronenberg's return to the science fiction and horror genres for the first time since Existenz (1999).
An international co-production of Canadian, French, British, and Greek companies, Crimes of the Future had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or and received a six-minute standing ovation. The film received a theatrical release in France on May 25, 2022, opened in Canada on June 3, 2022, and had a same day limited release in the United States. It received generally positive reviews from critics.
Contents
Plot
In an unspecified future, significant advances in biotechnology have led to the widespread adoption of machines and analogue computers that can directly interface with and control bodily functions. Humankind itself has experienced several biological changes of indeterminate origin. Most significant among these changes is the disappearance of physical pain and infectious disease for an overwhelming majority, allowing surgeries to be performed on conscious people in ordinary settings. Other humans experience even more radical alterations to their physiology. An eight-year-old boy named Brecken can consume and digest plastics as food. Convinced he is inhuman, Brecken's mother smothers him with a pillow, leaving his corpse to be found by her ex-husband Lang.