When Nietzsche Wept (2007) (Movie Review)

When Nietzsche Wept (2007) You might wonder, but… yes, it’s definitely an American film! An independent film, it was shot in Bulgaria. The film is based on a novel by Irvin D. Yalom, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Stanford University and an existentialist psychotherapist.

It’s funny: I read that the length of the book is… 14 hours! I suppose that’s the length of the audio book. Set mainly in Vienna, Austria, in 1882, it recounts the fictional meeting, orchestrated by Lou Salomé, between Dr Josef Breuer and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It is a fictional evocation of the birth of psychoanalysis and the birth of Nietzsche’s philosophy. We meet some of the leading figures of late nineteenth-century Vienna. Yalom’s book is fictional, but contains many references to history and historical figures such as Josef and Mathilde Breuer, Friedrich Nietzsche, Lou Salomé, Sigmund Freud, Bertha Pappenheim and Paul Rée. He also mentions Franz Overbeck and the composer Richard Wagner. I don’t know Pinchas Perry outside of this film. I know he also directed The Chicago 8 (2011) which is a political thriller, but I haven’t seen it. In any case, the legendary Armand Assante, the late Ben Cross and the fabulous Katheryn Winnick do a marvellous job in this film, which probably didn’t have the success it was hoping for.

The surreal comic scenes, which are found between the very serious moments, must not have gone down well. But you can also feel betrayed by not seeing a biopic, because you can’t base your knowledge of reality on this film, given that all these famous people never met. At least, not in this way. For me, this film borders on a masterpiece and I could watch it several times.

The dialogue is gripping and I’m passionate about this kind of philosophy. I learned a bit more about Nietzsche and his way of thinking, even if I can’t really take it at face value. Full of beautiful phrases and values. I didn’t find it long and the film isn’t heavy or impossible to understand as it could have been. Worth seeing at least once!

My Rating