Der Einstein des Sex (1999)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Rosa von Praunheim

Writers:

Chris Kraus (writer)
Valentin Passoni (writer)

Release Date:

16 March 2000 (Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

The life story of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a German Jew, who as a physician established the field of sexology...

Plot Keywords:

Transvestite | Male Nudity | Research | Male Frontal Nudity | Gay Interest

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Friedel von Wangenheim	...	Dr. M. Hirschfeld
Ben Becker	...	Adolf Brand
Wolfgang Völz	...	Polizeipräsident
Otto Sander	...	Professor Steinach
Meret Becker	...	Arbeiterin
Monika Hansen	...	Gräfin
Gerd Lukas Storzer	...	Baron von Teschenberg
Olaf Drauschke	...	Karl Giese
Gerry Wolff	...	Magnus Hirschfelds Onkel
Christa Pasemann	...	Tante Gesche
Peter Ehrlich	...	Richard
Andreas Niederau-Kaiser	...	Glatzkopf
Angelika Mann	...	Sängerin
Sven Gerhard	...	Preussischer Offizier
Kai Schumann	...	Magnus Hirschfeld (young)

Also Known As:

Der Einstein des Sex - Leben und Werk des Dr. Hirschfeld (Germany) (promotional title)
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (International: English title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Germany | Netherlands

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Germany:12 (w)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Argus Film Produktie

Movie Connections:

Featured in Tunten lügen nicht (2002)

Different and interesting.

This is a film that should be seen. It may shock, certainly, but it will enlighten and educate. It is also a part of German history. Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, a Jewish homosexual, set up an Institute in 1921 to research problems concerned with sexuality. This was an unexplored field. People from all over Europe consulted him about their own sexual problems, including the young Austrian Baron Hermann von Teschenberg who became his lover. In 1933 the Nazis destroyed the Institute of Sexual Science. Research papers and museum pieces were lost for ever. Male nudity in this film is acceptable because it is relevant to the subject. The museum is filled with phallic objects carved from ivory, penis protectors from Papua New Guinea, an intriguing masturbation contraption (which perhaps is the fore-runner of the modern vibrator), tattooed testicles belonging to the Chinese emperor's brother and other so-called "sinful objects". All this is portrayed in a clinical and straight forward manner. The good doctor is called upon to do surgery and one can get a bit squeamish when he goes to work on the transvestite Dorchen or the removal of a penis from a pleading hermaphrodite. It seemed to me it was executed with a very quick snip done under the most unhygienic conditions. Some of the other characters worthy of mention are the young Karl Giese (Hirschfeld's lover) who fights a losing battle to protect the Institute from the Nazi madness, and Adolph Brand an important gay right-wing writer who writes extravagant poetry about the physical beauty of German youth. Direrctor Rosa von Praunheim has done a magnificent job in bringing the life and work of Dr. Hirschfeld to the screen. It is a frank and honest approach and it is not without its little touches of humour. This film is worthy of attention. It's one of the most entertaining I've seen for a long time. How nice it is to see something very different. I rank it high on my list of favourites.