A Dangerous Method
This is another film in this year's festival based upon a play ("The Talking Cure" by Christopher Hampton) that I've recently seen.
David Cronenberg directs this true story of Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley), a patient with a deep psychological problem, who was a patient shared by both Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis, or the talking cure, was still in its infancy and this film highlights the differences between Freud (who thought that the genesis of all psychological problems were sexual in nature) and Jung (who sought to move patients toward a better place emotionally rather than just rendering a diagnosis).
Freud was the elder statesman of the time and has become highly criticized in the last 15 years or so but his work seems to once again be gaining relevance and respectability.
Viggo Mortensen (Freud) and Michael Fassbender (Jung) both transform and turn in solid performances.
This film is interesting primarily for its historical perspective, especially for those interesting in Freud and Jung.
Spielrein, a Russian Jew, went on to become a doctor herself, to specialize in child psychology, and was executed by the Germans in the early 1940's.
Poulet aux prunes
A unique love story in the same quirky style as Amélie.
Nasser Ali Khan, a famous violinist from Tehran, has his favorite violin smashed to pieces and no other can take its place. Deciding to give up living as he cannot pursue his art any longer, we learn of his life and his other loss, that of the one woman he truly loved.
Funny, poignant, and life affirming.
This is the only film that's brought a tear to my eye so far...
