Synopsis
Lou Andreas-Salomé, the woman who enraptured 19th century Europe’s greatest minds, recounts her life to Ernst Pfeiffer in this German film directed by Cordula Kablitz-Post. A published novelist, poet and essayist, Salomé’s desire to live a life free from convention scandalized society but spurred genius and passion in others, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Rée and her lover, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Under the tutelage of Sigmund Freud, she became the first female psychoanalyst.
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Cast
- Katharina LorenzLou Andreas-Salomé, jung
- Julius FeldmeierRainer Maria Rilke
- Nicole HeestersLou Andreas-Salomé (72J.
- Merab NinidzeFriedrich Carl Andreas
- Carl AchleitnerVerleger
- Katharina SchüttlerMarie
- Peter SimonischekLous Vater
- Liv Lisa FriesLou Andreas-Salomé, jung
- Alexander ScheerFriedrich Nietzsche
- Philipp HaußPaul Rée
Recommendations
- 70
Village Voice
Salomé would be better served by a story that focuses more explicitly on her intellectual life rather than on her personal one, but considering how stodgy biopics can be, Lou Andreas-Salomé, The Audacity to Be Free offers a mostly engaging portrait of a charismatic and brilliant figure. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Though Cordula Kablitz-Post's feature debut Lou Andreas-Salome, The Audacity to be Free views this very unconventional woman through the conventions of the biopic, its drama benefits from a viewer's ignorance of her story. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Director Cordula Kablitz-Post, who scripted with Susanne Hertel, effectively presents Lou as neither heroine nor genius but as a flawed, complex, fascinating pacesetter. - 67
The Film Stage
Beyond what the film says and represents, it’s also well made. - 50
Variety
While trying to save her from being considered as merely an inspiration to the great men around her, the script inadvertently reinforces this impression. - 50
The New York Times
Throughout, the writer and director Cordula Kablitz-Post asserts Andreas-Salomé’s commitment to her own independence. But Ms. Kablitz-Post’s focus on Andreas-Salomé’s suitors has the effect of chaining the early feminist’s legacy to exactly the patriarchal conventions she claims to reject.
