Der Einstein des Sex
| Der Einstein des Sex | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Rosa von Praunheim |
| Written by |
Chris Kraus Valentin Passoni |
| Starring |
Friedel von Wangenheim Ben Becker Wolfgang Völz |
| Music by | Karl-Ernst Sasse |
| Cinematography | Elfi Mikesch |
| Edited by | Mike Shephard |
Release dates | March 16, 2000 |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (German: Der Einstein des Sex) is a 1999 German film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. The plot follows the life of the Jewish doctor Magnus Hirschfeld who was a sexologist and gay socialist. In 1897, Hirschfeld founded the first political gay group in history.
In the film three of Hirschfeld's closest friends are portrayed: Baron Hermann von Teschenberg, Karl Giese and Dorchen (a transsexual). They establish the first Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin in 1919. They try to keep the institute open during the rise of the Third Reich in the early 1930s.
Although inspired by Hirschfeld's life, the film is a work of fiction containing invented characters and incidents and attributing motives and sentiments to Hirschfeld and others on the basis of little or no historical evidence. Hirschfeld biographer Ralf Dose notes, for instance, that "the figure of 'Dorchen' in Rosa von Praunheim's film The Einstein of Sex is complete fiction."[1]
Cast
- Friedel von Wangenheim as Dr. M. Hirschfeld
- Ben Becker as Adolf Brand
- Wolfgang Völz as Polizeipräsident
- Otto Sander as Professor Steinach
- Meret Becker as Arbeiterin
- Monika Hansen as Gräfin
- Gerd Lukas Storzer as Baron von Teschenberg
- Olaf Drauschke as Karl Giese
- Tima die Göttliche as Dorchen
- Harald Glitz as Hochzeitsgast
- Ulrich Jackwit as Geheimrat
- Kai Schuhmann as Magnus Hirschfeld (young)
External links
Notes
- ↑ Ralf Dose, Magnus Hirschfeld: The Origins of the Gay Liberation Movement (New York City: Monthly Review Press, 2014); ISBN 978-1-58367-437-6.