Maria Schell (Sophie) and Paul Scofield (Alexander) turn in magnificent performances as former patients of Freud who meet for the first time in Vienna in 1970. Sophie convinces a wary Alexander to meet after she sees him interviewed on TV about his experience with Freud. In their one-day encounter, in a reluctant Alexander's cluttered apartment, the two sit down to talk.
Sophie is now a divorced New Yorker of nearly 70, Alexander is a lonely widower; both still harbor resentment of Freud's treatment of their youthful "problems." Their personal narratives, shown in flashback, are poignant; Freud is an unseen but vivid presence in the therapy scences.Dealing with psychoanalysis and passion, 1919 most certainly isn't what you may call "light entertainment". Two childhood friends meet some 50 years later in an apartment in Vienna, they visit Freud's consulting rooms [now museum] and talk about their lives. Both Alexander Scherbatov and Sophie Rubin are [fictive] patients to Sigmund Freud and we see flashbacks from their therapy sessions, interlaced with authentic film clips. Alexander is a Russian aristocrat, haunted by his incestuous longing for his sister Nina. Sophie, whos parents sent her to Freud, rejects his efforts to "cure" her from her passion for a woman.
(Movie)
Directed by:
Hugh Brody
Writing credits (in alphabetical order):
Hugh Brody
Michael Ignatieff
Runtime: 99 min
Country: UK
Language: English
Color: Black and White / Color
Sound Mix: Mono
Cast:
Paul Scofield - Alexander Scherbatov
Maria Schell - Sophie Rubin
Frank Finlay - Sigmund Freud (voice)
Diana Quick - Anna
Clare Higgins - Young Sophie
Colin Firth - Young Alexander
Sandra Berkin - Nina
Alan Tilvern - Sophies father
Bridget Amies - Child's Nurse
Willy Bowman
Norman Chancer
Jacqueline Dankworth - Alexander's Sister
Christine Hargreaves
Keith Kraushaar
Christopher Lahr - Child Alexander
