MoMu@TheMovies: Seconds

Arthur Hamilton, a middle-aged banker, is dissatisfied with his suburban existence. After a phone call from a friend whom he believed to be dead, he elects to undergo an elaborate procedure at the sinister The Company. The procedure will grant him a new life as a younger man. Once Hamilton is sucked into the dark underworld of The Company, there is no turning back...

James Wong Howe's memorable expressionist cinematography portrays the nightmare the main character finds himself in so convincingly that it was rightfully nominated for an Oscar. Howe uses canted camera angles and distorted lenses to visualize this existential sci-fi story. ‘Seconds’ is the third instalment of John Frankenheimer’s ‘paranoia’ trilogy, alongside 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962) and 'Seven Days in May' (1964). Through a mix of horror, noir and science fiction, ‘Seconds’ offers a prescient look at the fallibility of the American Dream.

Graphic designer Saul Bass - known for his title sequences for Otto Preminger's 'The Man With the Golden Arm' and Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' - designed the opening titles for 'Seconds'.

On the occasion of the exhibition 'MIRROR MIRROR - Fashion & the Psyche’ MoMu@TheMovies curates the screening of 'Seconds' by John Frankenheimer at De Cinema, selected by participating artist Cindy Sherman. The joint exhibition explores the interconnections between fashion, psychology, self-image and identity. With introduction by MoMu Curator Elisa De Wyngaert.