When Nietzsche Wept
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''When Nietzsche Wept'' ( German: ''Als Nietzsche Weinte'') is a 2007 American
art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by Pinchas Perry and starring Armand Assante, Ben Cross and Katheryn Winnick. It is based on the novel of the same name by Irvin D. Yalom. It was filmed in
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
.


Plot

The film opens with the Russian-born novelist—who eventually became a member of Freud's 'Vienna Circle'— Lou Andreas-Salome ( Katheryn Winnick) who had an unconsummated (Platonic) 'love affair' with German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche ( Armand Assante), and to whom he allegedly proposed in 1882 (although whether her claims are true is very much up for debate). Writing a letter to Dr
Josef Breuer Josef Breuer ( ; ; 15 January 1842 – 20 June 1925) was an Austrian physician who made discoveries in neurophysiology, and whose work during the 1880s with his patient Bertha Pappenheim, known as Anna O., led to the development of the "cathart ...
( Ben Cross), after hearing of his newly developed talking cure (Breuer was a friend and mentor of
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
( Jamie Elman), who also appears in the story, and one of the influential fathers of
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
). The two meet, and a reluctant and troubled Breuer agrees to Salome's plan; to cure the intense
migraine Migraine (, ) is a complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea, and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may includ ...
attacks that plague Nietzsche, and at the same time, without his knowing, cure the despair that her refusal of marriage has inflicted upon him. Salome has persuaded Franz Overbeck (Nietzsche's friend) to send him to Breuer. However, Nietzsche offers no support to Breuer, thinking that accepting his treatment would be surrendering his power to Breuer, so the course of treatment must end. In a chilling parallel, an encounter with a mistreated horse causes Nietzsche to redeem his appointment with Breuer (Nietzsche finally went mad after stopping a man from whipping a horse using his own body, before breaking down in tears and descending into
insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...
). Nietzsche later visits a whorehouse, where he has another migraine attack, exacerbated by the overuse of a sleeping draught ( a chemical substance with psycho-active properties ). Nietzsche decides that he will, instead of pursuing treatment, leave for
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. Meanwhile, an up-and-coming psychologist, Sigmund Freud, student of Dr. Breuer, suggests that if he was to make some confession to Nietzsche, he may stop seeing any positive sentiment shown as a bid for power, and indulge in confessions of his own. All while still under the guise that Dr. Breuer is only treating Nietzsche's migraines. So, the next time they met, Breuer makes the suggestion that, while he treats Nietzsche's body, Nietzsche must "treat" Breuer of the despair that he feels after falling in love with one of his patients,
Bertha Pappenheim Bertha Pappenheim (27 February 1859 – 28 May 1936) was an Austrian-Jewish feminist, a social pioneer, and the founder of the Jewish Women's Association (). Under the pseudonym Anna O., she was also one of Josef Breuer's best-documented pat ...
(played by Michal Yannai), otherwise known as Anna O., a famous case which was discussed in a joint book published Breuer and Freud in 1895, a work largely recognized as having major influences on the early psychoanalysis movement. The confessions lead to the two becoming open with each other, learning each other's way of life and finally the two becoming friends, but not before the film has explored a great deal of Nietzsche's philosophy and Breuer's psychoanalysis. Breuer's anguish over his supposed unhappiness is explored by means of his highly symbol-laden
dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...
s, thus showing the importance of interpretation as a stepping stone in what would constitute Freud's approach to psychoanalytic techniques. The film ends with Dr. Breuer reentering a happy relationship with his wife, after finding clearance and reassurance in a hypnotically induced dream, where aspects of Nietzsche's teachings and advice aid in his grand transformation. Nietzsche (now cured of his despair and agonizing migraines) boards a train to move to Switzerland. The film recognizes that there on the shores of Lake Silvaplana, he would write ''
Thus Spoke Zarathustra ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; it was published in four volumes between 1883 and 1885. ...
,'' his most well-known work.


Cast

* Ben Cross as
Josef Breuer Josef Breuer ( ; ; 15 January 1842 – 20 June 1925) was an Austrian physician who made discoveries in neurophysiology, and whose work during the 1880s with his patient Bertha Pappenheim, known as Anna O., led to the development of the "cathart ...
* Armand Assante as
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
* Joanna Pacula as Mathilde Breuer * Michal Yannai as
Bertha Pappenheim Bertha Pappenheim (27 February 1859 – 28 May 1936) was an Austrian-Jewish feminist, a social pioneer, and the founder of the Jewish Women's Association (). Under the pseudonym Anna O., she was also one of Josef Breuer's best-documented pat ...
* Jamie Elman as
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...
* Andreas Beckett as Zarathustra * Katheryn Winnick as Lou Salome * Rachel O'Meara as Frau Becker * Yzhar Charuzi as Hush Man * Ilan Charusi as Carmen Barman * Tal Fructer as Girl by Pianist * Silvia Terzieva as Mrs. Fiefer * Ivaylo Brusovki as Mendel Fiefer * Paula Dominguez as Mia Breuer


Historical accuracy

The film is largely fictional, though many facts and events are taken from the characters' real lives and inserted into the film for narrative purposes. The book from which the film was based was an exploration of the hypothetical conjunction of Nietzsche's, Breuer's, and Freud's destinies, and their later contributions in the development of psychoanalysis, of which Nietzsche's thought played a significant part. Besides the historical characters directly depicted, through the film, there are also references to Paul Rée, Franz Overbeck and
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
.


References


External links

* {{IMDb title, 0760188 *
When Nietzsche Wept
' at
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*
When Nietzsche Wept
' at
FilmAffinity FilmAffinity is a movie recommendations website created in 2002 in Madrid, Spain, by the film critic Pablo Kurt Verdú Schumann and the programmer Daniel Nicolás. In 2016, the site listed 125,000 movies and series and had 556,000 reviews writte ...
2007 films Films with atheism-related themes American independent films American drama films 2007 drama films Films about Friedrich Nietzsche Films based on American novels Films set in the 1880s Films set in Vienna Films shot in Bulgaria Cultural depictions of Sigmund Freud Cultural depictions of Josef Breuer Films about psychiatry Films about philosophy 2000s English-language films 2000s American films