My Name Was Sabina Spielrein (2003)

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In 1977, the history of psychoanalysis was virtually rewritten with the discovery of a box of correspondences and diaries that had belonged to a noted, but largely unrecognized child psychologist named Sabina Spielrein. Filmmaker Elisabeth Márton attempts to shed some light on the highly influential… More In 1977, the history of psychoanalysis was virtually rewritten with the discovery of a box of correspondences and diaries that had belonged to a noted, but largely unrecognized child psychologist named Sabina Spielrein. Filmmaker Elisabeth Márton attempts to shed some light on the highly influential psychoanalyst's life in the 2002 biographical documentary entitled Ich Heiss Sabina Spielrein (My Name Was Sabina Spielrein). As a young woman, the deeply troubled Spielrein left Russia for Zurich and eventually crossed paths with Carl Jung, becoming his first analysis patient at his famous Burgholzli clinic. Jung diagnosed and successfully treated her for hysteria, prompting the young Russian to go into medicine and eventually practice psychology as one of the first female members of Sigmund Freud's Psychoanalytical Society. Remaining in close contact with both of her mentors for a large portion of her life, Spielrein's influence on both men's psychoanalytical theories was relatively unknown until the aforementioned discovery of her letters and diaries. Ich Heiss Sabina Spielrein premiered in 2002, and was subsequently screened at a handful of English and German-language film festivals the following year. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi