Here's why Cannes audience WALKED OUT of Kristen Stewart-starrer 'Crimes of the Future'
David Cronenberg is no stranger to shocking filmgoers and critics at Cannes. 'Crash', his 1996 directorial, was booed at by viewers, who walked out of the theater. Francis Ford Coppola, the then jury president, had said that some of the jury members had even "abstained very passionately" from awarding the film a special jury prize.
The Canadian filmmaker is back at Cannes and he has managed to stir the pot once again, this time with his body horror flick titled 'Crimes of the Future' starring Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, and Kristen Stewart. But before we get to the matter at hand, here's the official synopsis: "As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice (Léa Seydoux), Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin (Kristen Stewart), an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed… Their mission – to use Saul’s notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution."
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The film premiered at Cannes and, according to Variety, made dozens of viewers storm out midway as they couldn't sit through the events that were unfolding on the screen. Here are some of the things that the filmgoers probably couldn't stomach: shots of intestines, scenes where characters orgasm by licking each other's open wounds, and a gory child autopsy sequence. In a separate press screening, 5 critics ended up leaving, and we're guessing they share the same reasons as the viewers from the previous screening.
'Crimes of the Future', however, received a seven-minute-long standing ovation, despite some of the viewers finding it uncomfortable to sit through. Cronenberg had mentioned during an interview with Variety (prior to the premiere) that there "might be walkouts" and that "a normal audience would have no problem with the movie."
'Crimes of the Future' is slated to release in theaters in the US on June 3, 2022.