Der Trafikant

Its a story about the plain and simple bond, between the psychiatrist sigmund freud and a tobacco selling apprentice franz , in the politically preassure boiler pre 2nd world war vienna, austria.

its a nice film, without atrocities, and not so much nazipropaganda as you might expect of a film like this, but it catches itself very well through the acting and location design of the city streets of vienna.

its a bit psychoanalytic in its preferences, and there are some dream themes that can be sore to swallow for the novices of the silverscreen, but the message are given without the words in a very well acted play.

if you like bruno ganz, you wont be dissapointed, the grumpy old man recommends

An incredible film about psychology, dreams, love, passion, terror, and suffering set at one of Europe's most bizarre periods. The old Vienna is well depicted, and the mysterious but fatherly figure of Sigmund Freud is astounding.

Rarely have I been so impressed by a new film, or so eager to see it again. This one is all about eye candy and superb acting. The visual opportunities of the Alpine village where it begins and the Freudian dream interpretation angle are fully exploited. Ganz's powerful portrayal of Sigmund Freud--so much more sympathetic than the man himself--might overshadow all else. While indifferent as a history lesson, this does have a fine ring of truth from all I know about the place and period. It caught my eye that when Anezka takes up with a Nazi, he is a member of Waffen SS. Does that mean she will soon be brutalized by an arch psychopath, or that she has placed her bet on someone with a very short life expectancy? I am exercised to read the underlying novel to find out. I have a gripe with the period cars. Was every other car in Austria a Model A Ford? And an immaculate, bright colored collector car at that? (The cars other than Fords are appropriate.) The opportunities to see this in a theater will be sadly few. Please watch for it.

This is a sad story in the turbulent times during Nazi rule, through the eyes of a young man working as an apprentice in a newsagent. I like the friendship between the boy and the newsagent; even though Sigmund Freud may have been the draw.

Making a coming of age story with Freud as a character would be particularly difficult, all on its own. And the film does succeed on a number of levels with Ganz and the other actors offering compelling performances to pull off a number of deeply emotional moments. But when you consider that this film is also largely about the Nazi occupation of Austria, there is just too much going on. Similarly, there are a number of dream sequences (a nod to psychoanalysis), that can take the viewer out of the story. This film is definitely worth the watch, however, with some powerful moments and great cinematography.