in a bland and sterile and heavily automate future where die from terminal illness have become virtually obsolete and the fact that best sell writer katherine mortenhoe ( a fabulously fiery and feisty turn by romy schneider ) have a rare mortal sickness that will bring about her untimely demise make her a prime subject for a tasteless mondo style live atrocity tv show . but the fiercely proud and self sufficient katherine refuse to prostitute her impend death into a hideous spectacle for a jaded audience sick enjoyment . so amoral and opportunistic director vincent ( a sleazily appeal harry dean stanton ) and the man responsible for the lurid and top rat death watch series and have cameras implant behind the eye of eager beaver reporter roddy ( the one and only harvey keitel and who excellent a usual ) . roddy befriend the unsuspecting katherine and secretly record her final day in all their ghastly intimacy . direct in a crisp and low key and thoughtful manner by bertrand taverneir and with a lucid and intelligent and provocative script by taverneir and david rayfiel and sumptuous and prowling and appropriately voyeuristic cinematography by pierre william glenn and a beautifully melancholy tone and a frantic screaming violin classical music score by antoine duhamel and a deliberately gradual pace and and a lovely cameo by max von sydow a katherine wise and reclusive schoolteacher father and this eerily prophetic and gravely philosophical film ruminates on a compelling variety of very timely and topical post modern issue represent technological advancement make it easy to invade a person privacy and cause creativity to stagnate ( katherine novel be actually write by a computer that she strictly program ideas into ) and technology overwhelming mankind so greatly that it cause people to become unfeeling and dispassionate automaton and the morbidly irresistible allure of real life tragedy and man denial of his own mortality and journalistic ethic and die with your dignity intact and even fate vs. free will . a brilliant and moving and and most accomplished thinking man science fiction gem .