Crimes of the Future (1970)

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad ... See full summary »

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg

Stars:

Ronald Mlodzik, Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronald Mlodzik	...	Adrian Tripod
Jon Lidolt
Tania Zolty
Paul Mulholland
Jack Messinger
Iain Ewing
William Haslam
Raymond Woodley	...	(as Ray Woodley)
Stefan Czernecki
Rafe Macpherson
Willem Poolman
Don Owen
Udo Kasemets
Bruce Martin
Brian Linehan

Storyline

Crimes of the Future details the wanderings of Tripod (Mlodzik), sometime director of a dermatological clinic called the House of Skin, who is searching for his mentor, the mad dermatologist Antoine Rouge. Rouge has disappeared following a catastrophic plague resulting from cosmetic products, which has killed the entire population of sexually mature women. Tripod joins a succession of organisations including Metaphysical Import-Export and the Oceanic Podiatry Group, and meets various individuals and groups of men who are trying to adjust themselves to a defeminized world. One man parodies childbirth by continually growing new organs which are removed from his body. Eventually Tripod comes upon a group of paedophiles which is holding a 5 year-old girl, and they urge him to mate with her. He senses the presence of Antoine Rouge.

---

Plot Keywords:

1990s | year 1997 | plague | cross dressing | male to female cross dressing | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crimes of the Future

Filming Locations:

Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emergent Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 1997.

---

Quotes

Adrian Tripod: When Antoine Rouge disappeared, soon after he had himself contracted the disease which bears his name, we believe that he had preferred to die alone, in an exile only partially self-willed. Still, he on one occasion remarked that Rouge's malady could not possibly be fatal to Rouge, though it had already killed hundreds of thousands of women. And it is true that his death was confirmed only by certain authorities who had long wished for his death. Yet the Rouge, as my mentor and I were ...

---

Connections

Referenced in Parasite Memories: The Making of 'Shivers' (2014)

User Reviews

A Germ of Cronenberg, Not a Masterpiece

This line is normally where I put the plot, but the plot is unclear to me... a group of people who live in an institution for bizarre venereal diseases, perhaps?

This film is David Cronenberg's follow-up to "Stereo", and aside from a slightly bigger budget and moving from monochrome to color, it is clear that his themes have not shifted much (if at all). He loves the medical institutions, the sterile surroundings of the hospital, and the imposing architecture (camera shots repeatedly make the building look bigger and the hallways longer than the reality most likely is).

He again talks of medical abnormality, something he would visit again in "Rabid" and "The Brood" and "Scanners". The special effects are played down here, with a discussion of new organs having few visuals to back up the idea (some indecipherable mass in a jar). The film as a whole is really an artistic exploration of minimalism. Most scenes involve characters sitting still for minutes at a time, hardly any words are spoken (though numerous discomforting sounds are heard). The whole film's plot is drawn out by a voice-over (perhaps calling to mind Chris Marker's "La Jetee").

What differentiates great directors from poor ones is, in my opinion, the ability to know your limits and to stretch the limits while keeping the budget in mind. Cronenberg fits into this category of greatness. Like early Kubrick ("The Killing"), he knows he has no budget but makes up for it with stark contrast and searing images. While this is by no means Cronenberg's best work, it is clear to see that given another script and a bigger budget, he has the vision. He frames each scene very carefully, the camera actually taking in more than is actually there in the process.

Your average viewer would watch this and, even at the very short 62 minute running time, declare it a waste of film. Who wants to watch a bunch of ugly men in a courtyard while a voice talks about venereal disease and the need to impregnate a child? But a film student or scholar may see the film differently. Clearly, knowing what we know now about Cronenberg's success makes me biased. But still, the germ of directing genius is present here.