Surgery is the New Sex.|May. 25, 2022|Canada|107 Min.|R
Genre: 4K-2160p;Drama;Horror;Science;Fiction
Description: In an unspecified future, the devastating impacts of pollution and climate change have driven significant advancements in biotechnology, including the development of machines and analog computers capable of directly interfacing with and controlling bodily functions. Simultaneously, humanity has undergone unexplained biological transformations. The most notable change is the disappearance of physical pain and infectious diseases for the majority, enabling surgery to be performed on conscious individuals in ordinary settings. However, some people experience more extreme physiological alterations.
One such individual is an eight-year-old boy named Brecken, who possesses the innate ability to consume and digest plastic as food. Convinced he is no longer human, Brecken’s mother suffocates him with a pillow. His body is later discovered by her ex-husband, Lang.
The story centers on Saul Tenser and Caprice, a globally renowned performance art duo. They capitalize on Tenser’s “accelerated evolution syndrome,” a condition causing his body to continuously produce new vestigial organs. They surgically remove these organs during live performances. The syndrome causes Tenser constant pain and severe respiratory and digestive discomfort, forcing him to rely on specialized biomechanical devices, including a surgical machine, a unique bed, and an eating-assistance chair.
Tenser and Caprice interact with officials from the National Organ Registry, a government agency tasked with monitoring and restricting human evolution by cataloging newly evolved organs. Among them is Timlin, a nervous bureaucrat who becomes fascinated by Tenser’s artistic endeavors. At one of his performances, she claims that “surgery is the new sex,” a concept Tenser seems to adopt.
Meanwhile, a governmental police unit enlists Tenser to infiltrate a group of radical evolutionists. Without informing Caprice, Tenser follows a trail of contacts through various biological performance art shows, eventually leading him to the evolutionist cell.
This film explores themes of human evolution, biotechnology, and the blurred lines between art, science, and morality in a dystopian future.
Cast director: David Cronenberg
Cast actor: Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux, Kristen Stewart, Scott Speedman, Welket Bungué, Don McKellar, Tanaya Beatty, Denise Capezza, Lihi Kornowski, Nadia Litz
Original name: Crimes of the Future