Freud, John Huston, 1962

This pseudobiographical movie depicts five years from 1885 on in the life of the Viennese psychologist Sigmund Freud (18561939). At this time, most of his colleagues refuse to cure hysteric patients, because they believe they re just simulating to gain attention. But Freud learns to use hypnosis to find out the reasons for the psychosis. Almost every neurotic symptom imaginable conveniently manifests itself in one (composite) patient, Cecily Koertner. She is sexually repressed, hysterical, and fixated on her father. And so Freud goes to work, developing one hypothesis after another. Also shown is Freud s home life with his wife Martha, whom he alternately discusses his theories with and patronizes when she reads one of his papers.