

Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection
Cronenberg's speculative historical work draws inspiration from the anatomical waxworks at the La Specola museum in Florence, Italy. These wax models, traditionally used for medical demonstrations, are given a new perspective in the film. Cronenberg's work reveals the vibrant and surprising aspects of these female wax corpses, which were previously seen as static and serious. As David Cronenberg explains: “The Specola wax figures were created as a teaching tool, capable of revealing the mysteries of the human body to those who could not access … real cadavers held in universities and hospitals. In their attempt to create whole, partially dissected figures, whose body language and facial expression did not show suffering or agony … the sculptors ended up producing living characters apparently overcome by ecstasy. It was this surprising stylistic choice that captured my imagination: what if it was the dissection itself that induced that tension, that almost religious rapture?”
- Overview
- Crew
- Recommendations
Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection
- Overview
- Crew
- Recommendations
Status
Released
Release Date
Mar 24, 2023
Runtime
0h 4m
Genres
Horror
User Score
46%
Original Title
Four Unloved Women, Adrift on a Purposeless Sea, Experience the Ecstasy of Dissection
Production Companies
Fondazione Prada
Director
David Cronenberg
Description
Cronenberg's speculative historical work draws inspiration from the anatomical waxworks at the La Specola museum in Florence, Italy. These wax models, traditionally used for medical demonstrations, are given a new perspective in the film. Cronenberg's work reveals the vibrant and surprising aspects of these female wax corpses, which were previously seen as static and serious. As David Cronenberg explains: “The Specola wax figures were created as a teaching tool, capable of revealing the mysteries of the human body to those who could not access … real cadavers held in universities and hospitals. In their attempt to create whole, partially dissected figures, whose body language and facial expression did not show suffering or agony … the sculptors ended up producing living characters apparently overcome by ecstasy. It was this surprising stylistic choice that captured my imagination: what if it was the dissection itself that induced that tension, that almost religious rapture?”