Unseen for almost 40 years, Fassbinder’s mammoth two-part science-fiction epic is nothing short of extraordinary. Beautifully restored by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, this lavish production presents a dystopian vision of the future astonishingly ahead of its time. At the Institute for Cybernetics and Future Science, a supercomputer houses an artificial world where thousands of ‘identity units’ live as humans and develop consciousness. Yet none of them is aware that they live in this simulated world. Dr. Fred Stiller (Klaus Lowitsch) arrives at the Institute to replace his predecessor, who has died mysteriously. Shortly afterwards, Lause, the head of security, vanishes, and Stiller can find no one who remembers him. His investigations take Stiller through noir-ish, labyrinthine worlds of simulation and corporate conspiracy that force him to confront his own sanity and understanding of reality. A profound philosophical contemplation of existence by one of Germany’s greatest filmmakers at the peak of his creative powers.