Seconds

A disillusioned businessman is confronted with the ultimate out-of-bodyexperience in John Frankenheimer’s paranoid psychological thriller thatimagines a near-future society where the wealthy can undergo surgicalrebirth as an escape into an anonymous carefree existence of aspirationalhedonism. Academy Award-winning cinematographer James Wong Howe’spsychedelic monochrome lensing enhances the mind-altering surrealismof Rock Hudson’s waking nightmare, who comes to discover that goodlooks, fame and sexual liberation come at a horrifying price. Based onthe novel by David Ely and released at a time of turbulent distrust andsystemic corruption, Seconds challenges our preconceptions of identityand established definitions of self, which have become increasingly fluid inthe 21st century.

Cannes Film Festival: In Competition

9/6 (Sun): Film talk with Derek Lam