"The Death of David Cronenberg" is a short (as in, very short – one minute long) film made in 2021 by David Cronenberg and his daughter, Caitlin. In the film David Cronenberg plays himself, as he encounters another David Cronenberg, dead, in bed.
Fangoria provides this analysis of the film:
It's peaceful, it's coming to terms with, it is quite literally embracing — death. Soft and existential. Cronenberg stands in a room awash with white light, as he approaches a sleeping figure in a bed, a bit of quiet shock washes over his face. The figure in the bed is Cronenberg, and he isn't asleep. Cronenberg comes face to face with his own Cronenberg corpse.
His reaction isn't one of horror, but rather an extreme tenderness. He leans down to softly kiss the cheek of his shell. The dummy standing in as Cronenberg's double is life-like enough to be slightly jarring; when he puts his weight on the bed it moves with the heft and consistency of a person. The two curl up together, in a tender embrace. The movie ends on a closeup, the two Cronenbergs cheek to cheek, the live Cronenberg's face a replica of the death mask frozen on the corpse. Haunting but beautiful.
Super Rare states that the film "explores mortality, surrealism, and the metamorphosis of life and death." I loved it and have watched it multiple times. The way David Cronenberg climbs into bed with and embraces his dead counterpart is so touching. We should all be so loved.
