Lifespan

Summary

International thriller/science fiction film about the discovery of a cure for ageing; shot in Amsterdam with a line-up of Dutch actors.

An American scholar comes to Amsterdam for a gerontology conference. He meets a Dutch colleague he’s friends with who tells him he has developed a serum to extend life indefinitely. After the Dutchman commits suicide the next day, the American starts to investigate what happened. He has an affair with his colleague’s ex-girlfriend and meets a secretive Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer, played by Klaus Kinski.

Lifespan is set primarily in Amsterdam, which is beautifully portrayed by cameraman Eddy van der Enden. The lead and supporting roles are played by many Dutch actors, including Eric Schneider, Joan Remmelts, Rudolf Lucieer and Matthijs van Heijningen, who plays a retired rector from the University of Amsterdam.

The film was shot in 1973, but was not released in Dutch cinemas until the fall of 1976.