The Tobacconist

An incredible film about psychology, dreams, love, passion, terror, and suffering set at one of Europe's most bizarre periods. The old Vienna is well depicted, and the mysterious but fatherly figure of Sigmund Freud is astounding.

A somewhat entertaining, competent and intelligent historical story, with some nice bits of description and a few good scenes, but let down by a too predictable plot and clumsiness in balancing the different threads of the plot. Worth a look, maybe, but all routine stuff compared to Freud's Last Session .

Rarely have I been so impressed by a new film, or so eager to see it again. This one is all about eye candy and superb acting. The visual opportunities of the Alpine village where it begins and the Freudian dream interpretation angle are fully exploited. Ganz's powerful portrayal of Sigmund Freud--so much more sympathetic than the man himself--might overshadow all else. While indifferent as a history lesson, this does have a fine ring of truth from all I know about the place and period. It caught my eye that when Anezka takes up with a Nazi, he is a member of Waffen SS. Does that mean she will soon be brutalized by an arch psychopath, or that she has placed her bet on someone with a very short life expectancy? I am exercised to read the underlying novel to find out. I have a gripe with the period cars. Was every other car in Austria a Model A Ford? And an immaculate, bright colored collector car at that? (The cars other than Fords are appropriate.) The opportunities to see this in a theater will be sadly few. Please watch for it.

This is a sad story in the turbulent times during Nazi rule, through the eyes of a young man working as an apprentice in a newsagent. I like the friendship between the boy and the newsagent; even though Sigmund Freud may have been the draw.

Making a coming of age story with Freud as a character would be particularly difficult, all on its own. And the film does succeed on a number of levels with Ganz and the other actors offering compelling performances to pull off a number of deeply emotional moments. But when you consider that this film is also largely about the Nazi occupation of Austria, there is just too much going on. Similarly, there are a number of dream sequences (a nod to psychoanalysis), that can take the viewer out of the story. This film is definitely worth the watch, however, with some powerful moments and great cinematography.