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6.8/10
806
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A scientist is tormented by an irrational fear of knives and the irresistible compulsion to murder his wife.A scientist is tormented by an irrational fear of knives and the irresistible compulsion to murder his wife.A scientist is tormented by an irrational fear of knives and the irresistible compulsion to murder his wife.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSigmund 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.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "I MISTERI DI UN'ANIMA (1926) + OMBRE AMMONITRICI (1923)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsEdited into Die Geschichte des erotischen Films (2004)
Featured review
Freud was probably right
G.W. Pabst's fourth film "Geheimnisse einer Seele" (Secrets of a Soul, 1926) was the first film to tackle the subject of psychoanalysis. Even though a controversial subject, the film managed to make a profit. The filmmakers desperately wanted Sigmund Freud himself to join the production as an expert, but Freud strongly refused, not believing that the medium of film could do justice to his psychological theories. In this, he was probably right, since it's doubtful that things would be this neatly spread out in any person's mind.
Werner Krauss plays a bourgeois scientist, who has a wife, 20 years younger than him. There is a murder in their neighbor's apartment, and suddenly Krauss starts to feel an inexplicable fear of knives and also an urge to murder his wife. We have a dream sequence, that is well executed enough, but it doesn't leave any kind of mystery to the film, which tries really hard to be a mystery. Of course we still get to return to it once the protagonist receives psychoanalytical treatment. Doesn't really take Freud to interpret this dream, but maybe people in 1926 weren't yet tired of freudian cliches.
This film looks like a pioneering work, but its greatest value lies in the films that it may have inspired. The dream sequence brings to mind Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945), and the depiction of guilt resembled Fritz Lang's "M" (1931) a little. The hold Pabst has over his film is too pedantic, especially towards the end. But one thing is certain, he does really believe in the science that he tries to sell you, and the film's message about how one can heal from psychological illnesses just like any other, is a positive one.
Werner Krauss plays a bourgeois scientist, who has a wife, 20 years younger than him. There is a murder in their neighbor's apartment, and suddenly Krauss starts to feel an inexplicable fear of knives and also an urge to murder his wife. We have a dream sequence, that is well executed enough, but it doesn't leave any kind of mystery to the film, which tries really hard to be a mystery. Of course we still get to return to it once the protagonist receives psychoanalytical treatment. Doesn't really take Freud to interpret this dream, but maybe people in 1926 weren't yet tired of freudian cliches.
This film looks like a pioneering work, but its greatest value lies in the films that it may have inspired. The dream sequence brings to mind Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945), and the depiction of guilt resembled Fritz Lang's "M" (1931) a little. The hold Pabst has over his film is too pedantic, especially towards the end. But one thing is certain, he does really believe in the science that he tries to sell you, and the film's message about how one can heal from psychological illnesses just like any other, is a positive one.
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- topitimo-829-270459
- Oct 24, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Tajna jedne duše
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 37 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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