Is the world a computer simulation? And, if it is a simulation, how many simulations have been constructed within these simulations? This is the question posed by the movie *World on a Wire* (Original title: *Welt Am Draht* – 1973).

The movie tells the story of Frank Stiller, a computer programmer of virtual realities, who begins to suspect that he, himself, is actually living in a simulated world.

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*World on a Wire* had somehow escaped my awareness until yesterday, when I watched it delight and bewilderment. I now believe it's a movie that ranks alongside *The Matrix* in its provocative, deep and philosophical exploration of the nature of our reality and our relationships with the unknown.  I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. I have @yoganarchista to thank for mentioning it in a conversation in Berlin.

*World on a Wire* was directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, whose work I was unaware of, but who I now place alongside Stanley Kubrick as a groundbreaking visual-storyteller. Several scenes in *World on a Wire* call to mind *A Clockwork Orange*, but Fassbinder is a far more playful director than Kubrick. The cinematography in this piece is luscious and bizarre; gentle, and terrifying, in equal measure. 

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While *The Matrix* smashes us over the head with gunfights and Baudrillard, *World on a Wire* is a piano string pressed gently at first against your neck, then forced ever tighter until, like Fred Stiller, you begin to scream in pain at the existential deconstruction of your entire reality. 

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Stiller (our hero) begins the movie as a charming, but haunted, James Bond (post-Daniel Craig) type. In fact, I began to suspect that the new James Bond movies had in fact based their characterisation of Bond on Stiller. While Stiller is no stranger to the gym, he is intelligent, sensitive and not afraid to express emotions. He cries at the possibility that he might be nothing but lines of code. He also likes to jump through windows or over fences whenever there is an opportunity. 

In one surreal and wonderful scene, he swivels on a swivel chair, repeatedly, while discussing the nature of reality.

He also drives the one and only car that I have ever liked the look of: A cira-1968 Corvette Stingray:

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He gets given this car when his predecessor dies under mysterious circumstances. Don't be jealous of Stiller's car though. It may be just lines of code. As Stiller may also be. Which he begins to suspect when a road he is driving down suddenly 'glitches' and disappears.

This appears to be the earliest reference to a 'glitch' in a computer simulated system being experienced by a protagonist that I have come across. And Stiller's discussions about 'glitches' in the *Simulacron* makes me certain that the The Wachowskis must have seen *World on a Wire* before making *The Matrix*. 

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It wonderful that these ideas were being explored in such detail in 1973. This is even years before Baudrillard's *Simulacra and Simulation* (1981) –– the philosophical treatise that is said to have inspired *The Matrix* most directly, and is referenced in that film, and can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6R94keJcHk

I'm surprised, in retrospect, that Neo did not also pick up a copy of *World on a Wire* during this scene, since it so clearly appears to have been a significant precedent for the ideas and challenges he faces later in the film.

I don't want to say much more about *World on a Wire*, since it must be digested as a visual kaleidoscope. West Berlin never looked or felt so strange and chilling.

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The entire movie wraps up in an ending that won my heart. Simply stunning.

Luckily, someone has put the entire movie on YouTube for us to explore. I think there is a strong moral case for it effectively being fair use: As it was made for West German television in 1973, I think it's safe to assume it was publicly funded and has now recouped its expenses. You'll find part one here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfXtzBRX3sg

And part 2 here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOe0sggQfF4

Prepare to question everything you know. Good luck!