Anti-Clock (1979)

The Anti-Clock project takes Joseph Sapha though the shadows of his past to confront that mirror image of the self that condemns us all - a blind automaton whose words are simply the ... See full summary »

Directors:

Jane Arden, Jack Bond

Writer:

Jane Arden

Stars:

Sebastian Saville, Suzan Cameron, Liz Saville

Cast

Credited cast:
Sebastian Saville	...	Joseph Sapha / Professor J.D. Zanof
Suzan Cameron	...	Alanda Clark, Sapha's Mother
Liz Saville	...	Sapha's Sister
Louise Temple	...	Madame Luisa Aranovitch
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Armstrong
Pat Bond
Joe Chappell
Chan Fai
Gia-Fu Feng	...	T'ai Chi Master
Richard Feynman	...	The Physicist
Tom Gerrard	...	Poker Dealer
Jasper Gough
Brian Jones
William K. Lam
Yoshiro Matsuya	...	Parapsychologist

Storyline

The Anti-Clock project takes Joseph Sapha though the shadows of his past to confront that mirror image of the self that condemns us all - a blind automaton whose words are simply the rationale of the defense attack system caught in the horrors of the past and the anxieties of the future. Does our hero have a chance of alienating the circuit which will suppress his longing for a higher synthesis?

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | video surveillance | suicide | psychiatry | female nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

10 September 1980 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kendon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A lot of the film is shown in B&W which is supposed to be the surveillance footage of the subject - the quality of this is often purposely degraded with video tracking faults applied to add authenticity.

User Reviews

More interested in being challenging than entertaining

A mixed bag, and one that will hit people differently – this is very much a 'matter of taste' movie - but for me there was much more good than bad.

It's an experimental film, one that at times feels like it would be more at home on a museum wall than in a movie theater: A young man who seems to be able to see the future and read the minds of others, but who has no insight into or understanding of himself seeks treatment from a therapist in a vaguely futuristic world. This simple story is presented in a very abstract and surreal way, with more than a hint of Godard ("Alphaville" especially).

On the down side the lead actor (Sebastian Saville) plays both the subject and the therapist (complete with a hopefully intentionally funny German accent for the latter). This leads to all sorts of not very deep notions about being our own therapist, holding up a mirror to ourselves etc. It's not helped that some of the psychiatrist's dialogue are over-the-top new age clichés that probably sounded a lot hipper, deeper and fresher in 1979 when the film was made.

On the other hand, the film makes great use of images, boldly mixing very rough black and white video played back on monitors --often in step frame slow motion -- with beautifully shot color film images. These images cover much the same thematic ground as the heavy dialogue, but do a much better job of making the ideas feel alive, vital, and often disturbing.

And not all the dialogue is bad. There are some effective and creepy dialogue scenes. It's just more variable.

In the end, I find both images and ideas have stuck with me, which is really all you can ask for this kind of film-making. It's more interested in being challenging than entertaining, but for enough of it's running time – for me – it managed to be both. But very much a case of 'your mileage may vary'.