Flick Review < Secrets of a Soul | Georg Wilhelm Pabst, 1926 / The First Film About Psychoanalysis
Secrets of a Soul / Geheimnisse einer Seele (1926)
Director: Georg Wilhelm Pabst
Writing: Karl Abraham, Hans Neumann, Colin Ross, Hanns Sachs
Cinematography: Robert Lach, Curt Oertel, Guido Seeber
Stars: Werner Krauss, Ruth Weyher, Ilka Grüning
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Sigmund Freud, whose book “The Interpretation of Dreams” largely influenced this film,
was approached to serve as a consultant on psychoanalysis. Freud declined, believing
that film could not capture the complexities of the science of psychoanalysis.
Ufa Studios incorrectly announced Sigmund Freud’s approval of the project, sparking rumors
and stories from Vienna to New York. The New York Times reported on July 26, 1925 that
“Psychoanalysis will be popularly explained through a screen filming which will be passed
upon and partly directed by Professor Freud.” Freud, so angered by the incorrect announcement,
demanded retractions in several newspapers and publications, and even paid for a second
notice to be printed in some.
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The former are filmed in a style characteristic of the neue Sachligkeit [new objectivity]
an art movement that emerged in Germany at the time as a reaction to expressionism.
