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Have you ever seen a film so good that, as soon as it ended, you wished you could watch it again for the first time? The Dutch cinema chain Pathé is about to see if that’s possible, using hypnosis.
What Pathé is doing
In a unique experiment called Pathé REWIND, the chain will try to hypnotise thirty film fans so they temporarily forget their favourite movie. Then, they’ll see if these viewers can relive that first-time feeling, with all the suspense, jokes, and surprises feeling new again. Pathé says the goal is to find out if the magic of a first cinema experience can be recreated.
The experiment will happen on Monday 9 November at Pathé Buitenhof in The Hague. Participants can pick from four films: The Matrix, Se7en, La La Land, and Interstellar. One film will be chosen for the screening based on what the group prefers. Before the event, each person has an online session with hypnotist Victor Kraemer, and just before the film starts, they are hypnotised again. The real test is whether they experience the film in a new way.
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A marketing experiment, not a memory wipe
It’s important to remember the obvious catch. Even the most enthusiastic reports admit it’s unclear whether people will really forget a film they know well. This is a playful marketing experiment by a cinema chain, not a scientific way to erase memories, and no one claims hypnosis can actually wipe your memory. The fun is in trying, and in the interesting idea behind it.
Part of a wider push
This stunt is part of Pathé’s bigger plan to bring people back to cinemas by offering more than just regular screenings. It connects with Pathé Classics, the program that brings popular older films back to the big screen, and follows other recent ideas, like testing intervals during very long movies. “At Pathé we are continually looking for ways to offer our visitors a special cinema experience,” the company said, adding that with REWIND it wanted to “go a step further.”
Film fans who liked the idea of having a favourite movie temporarily forgotten could sign up until 29 October. Even if no one truly forgets their chosen film, the thirty participants will still get to watch a classic on the big screen, which is reason enough for many.