O Einstein do Sexo

This film, which has the look & feel of a docu-drama with authentic sets, scenery & standout costumes [when needed ;)], strives & succeeds in addressing two areas of socio-political history: human sexuality in general and a full rendering of gay & lesbian characters in popular culture and historic contexts. Rosa von Praunheim presents his characters with seriousness, gentleness & humor in THE EINSTEIN OF SEX, so that we get the idea that "darkness" in life can be confronted in as many hues and shades as comedy, romance & adventure genres. And that darkness is not necessarily a bad thing.

Modern society lacks a serious study of human sexuality, so Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld's story should be a cue for a movement in that direction. Some of the humor in the film is around this very fact - that we giggle at the sight of beautifully crafted male genital adornments from aboriginal cultures, yet we still find it difficult to approach the complexity of our sexual selves with the courage & empathy that Hirschfeld's character does. We will never know the lost segments of his writings & life events, but the fleshed out remnants in this film are an indication that we will not know ourselves truly until we know ourselves wholly and in diversity. THE EINSTEIN OF SEX is also an important work in terms of gay & lesbian visibility on film. Though set in a different time & setting than PRIEST, it will have a similar strong impact on viewers. For anyone who might want to learn more about the distressing effects of oppression on human beings, this is the kind of film I'd recommend and encourage more of from Hollywood-washed artists.

This is the worst movie I've seen this year so far. The story is about doctor Hirschfeld that struggled at the end of the 19th century for homo-sexuality and trans-sexuality. So far so good. The theme is allright, and the brave man deserves a good biography. Nevertheless, the way this biopic was made, was like the copywriter litterally copied some lines from the encyclopedia. The acting was done by a bunch of amateur playwright actors: you could see them thinking: there is an audience watching at me. And to top things, there was not a single scene that was either witty or exciting. Oh, well, just don't waste your time on this kitsch movie, especially if you are interested in the life in Hirschfeld.

This film pays long overdue homage to the so-called Einstein of Sex, Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld. Both contemporaries also share German-Jewish Heritage, and tremendous influence on the the 20th century. Dr. Hirschfeld's work, however has just become speakable let alone filmable in the last couple of decades. Rosa von Praunheim, a former underground filmmaker, has been breaking cinematic sexual taboos these past two decades. Von Praunheim's "made in Berlin" avant-gardism gives him much common ground with Hirschfeld. So much so that major European institutions lent their financing to von Praunheim's first mainstream film. In THE EINSTEIN OF SEX, von Praunheim mixes what is really known about Dr. Hirschfeld with actual newsreel footage of the 1910-1934 period, and adds trademark von Praunheim humor to fill in the unknown details. The true to life location shots (those of Berlin, and the Vorpommern Baltic coast in particular)are used to good effect. The result is a crowd pleaser, as the film's ranking in the top ten of audience votes in the recent Sao Paulo Film Festival (see mostra.org) will confirm. That's where I just saw it, so it was no surprise to see it listed on the Festival's top ten audience vote. Many von Praunheim "purists", however, may feel the director sold out to the conventional European film funds, German state sponsorship, and cable TV companies who co-produced the project. More conservative audiences may feel offended by the contents (though quite tame by von Praunheim standards). Nevertheless, the film is legitimized by the appearance of several of Germany's best-known actors in supporting and cameo roles (including Ben and Merrit Becker of the COMEDIAN HARMONISTS), and solid technical standards.

which was another title rosa entertained the possibility of using. when he announced it was forthcoming at a screening in LA I distinctly recall the collective gasp of the public, in anticipation: the subject seemed like the perfect one for rosa... but ... the film turned out nicht so gut, a big disappointment. actually I didn't see the whole thing but only walked out really cause I was visiting a strange city when it happened to stumble upon a chance to see one of its first screenings in the US, in Miami, where winsome elian gonzales was just about to be snatched from his home and riots were about to ensue.my feeling was he rushed into production on this one. it needed more rewrites to be the crowning glory of rosa his fan's tentatively but erroneously anticipated... and I wondered why he turned it over to the writers he chose rather than write it himself.

The film had early on one of the wittiest lines I have recently encountered: M. Hirschfield, barely into adulthood, and discussing with his uncle and aunt what his academic aspirations are, has his aunt give arguably the best line in the film. "M. do you promise to live?" (That is long enough because his father was a disappointment in that department...) "Yes aunt, I do." "You have to promise, you know, because that is a lot of money that will go to your studies." Well, it was more wittingly put in the film, than I have rephrased it. If that is not Lady Bracknell (from O. Wilde's "The importance of being Earnest") converted into Judaism, I do not know what is! Some of the fun aside, I really think this is an epitome of Jewishness: you have to promise not to die, because, you know, you are giving your promise to the law, that is studying, that is in the Name of the Father. And life, my dear, is completely insignificant in matters of the law.

Too bad the film does not pay attention to its clues. This could have made terrific comedy, but the effect is literal: young Hirschfeld looks anxious, to the wrong direction, missing all the fun, and spoiling ours for the rest of his on screen time. He seems preoccupied in all the wrong ways, along with the script I'm afraid. And when the film shifts gears with his older self, the actor chosen is visibly of a quite different sensibility, so that we miss all the insightful change from his formative to his twilight years. And this, too, courts disaster, for a film concerning an important personality must put that to the test, and be put to the test trying it. None of this happens, and the effect is that of being cheated into cheap editing.

The camera work takes some decisions that run counter to what distance we may want to take from the film, or not, literally or not so. It is one of these instances that the film-maker seems confused in thinking out the film in visual terms, so he picks up the middle way of almost constantly occupying the middle field. This blurs the characters and their initiatives.

Or, to put it in another way, don't you feel cheated, when you put to yourself the question "how much of this was devised, and how much derives from books and archives and true research?" For me at least, when you seriously (and not wonderingly) ask yourself that, the film has failed dramatically.

For the "Einstein of Sex" part, this film has little relativity, even less organizing theory, or Einstein's famous humor. As for the sex, well, the film does not introduce us into such bold matters...